Raised to Fight, Born to Die
by gneverson
Summary: "This is how we are alike, him and I. We both live for the blood and gory of the Hunger Games. I am worthy of his blood and he is worthy of mine…He is the only person in this arena who will kill me out of honor. I don't want to be killed by some coward. Hopefully that will not be ruined as well." Read Cato and Clove's untold story in the 74th Annual Hunger Games.
1. Raised to Fight

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Hey everyone, this is my first published fanfic so feedback, comments, and suggestions are appreciated! Thanks and enjoy!**

**Cato**

"You have trained all your life for this," she says. "But so has everyone else in this district. You must be the first to volunteer, you understand?" She has me by the shoulders and shakes me so as to make her words sink in.

"I will," I say. "I will go up before all the other boys."

"Good. You'll make District 2 proud, you hear me?"

I start to answer, but she cuts me off. "And don't go soft on the other District Two tribute at the last minute. Promise me that. It has to be you. You are skilled, strong, determined and bloodthirsty. It has to be you."

"Yes, Mom," I say, this time with a smile sneaking across my face. "I want this just as much as you do."

She nods excitedly. "It is a great honor. No one will forget you," she says.

**Clove**

_Thump! Thump!_

Each time one of my knives or another student's hit the target, there was a _thump!_

"Nicely done, Miss Sevina," Raoul says, complimenting me. As everyone stops throwing to pull their knives and spears out of our targets, I smile at his words because he hardly ever compliments anyone. I walk back to the throwing area and pick up another knife. I start throwing again. And every time my knife hits the moving targets dead center. Like always.

I think about the upcoming Reaping Day. I hope I do not get picked. If I get picked, someone else will, no doubt, volunteer for me. I hope with all my heart and soul someone else gets picked so I can volunteer for them. No, not for them. For _me_. I must win. I will win. I will kill every last tribute, no matter what. I will be the winner of the Seventy-Fourth Annual Hunger Games. I will.

No matter what.

**Cato**

"Welcome, students, to the Simulation Center," the trainer says. "As you have been doing so your whole lives, you will be put in the Practice Arena, where you must kill other students. Well, not actually _kill_, obviously. Don't forget, this is only to train you for combat in the Hunger Games! Here we go!"

Each student is given a random weapon. This is supposed to simulate your chances at the Cornucopia because the chances of you getting whatever you want from there are pretty slim. Unless, of course, you're a Career. That is what I am going to be.

I get a small knife. We enter the arena, which is a large, circular (fenced-off) platform. Teachers and trainers sit in elevated chairs surrounding the platform.

We stand on our plates. The arena is so large that the student on the plate across from me looks like an ant because he is so far away. Then the gong rings.

I run to the tribute on my right. I think he will be an easy conquer because of how skinny and uncoordinated he looks. I am wrong. He has a knife too, and before I know it I feel small slash on my left arm. I ignore it and aim for him, but he jumps and twists out of the way at the last minute. I still get him, though. I see a cut on his leg and blood flowing out.

I set my target on another tribute and throw my knife. It is going to hit!

Then a girl jumps in front of the knife and her hand shoots out, grabbing it before it hits her face. My mouth gapes open. How did she do that?

But I have no time to wonder.

The girl charges at me, with a knife and a spear. I don't have a weapon anymore, so I will have to use my strength against her. She raises the arm with the knife, but I grab it and pin it behind her back. She grunts in pain, but tries to fight back. At the same time, my other arm slaps her other hand back, and the spear falls to the ground. I kick it away so she can't reach it. Now I have both her arms pinned down, and she is panicking. I think I have her, but then her leg shoots up and knees me in my groin. I double over in pain, and she wriggles out of my grip, grabs the knife and spear, and darts off.

Then the gong rings, signaling the end of the training session.

The same trainer who brought us here makes an announcement. "As usual, any wounded go to the hospital wing downstairs, and all weapons must be turned in to one of the trainers. Thank you for joining us today." He says the last sentence like we just walked out of a meeting, not a fighting arena.

I walk downstairs with the other students and stop at the hospital wing so they can bandage up my arm. Then I walk outside and across the small courtyard and into the mess hall to get something to eat.

I walk with my food tray to my usual table and I sit down next to Ronan, one of my best friends. I see he's also brought a group of new girls to the table today, and one of them I recognize as the girl who kneed me in the arena. I nod at her, and she nods back.

Ronan raises his eyebrows. "You two know each other?"

The girl says, "I kneed him in the groin today at school." She laughs.

"Not before I stopped you from stabbing me," I say, sounding stupid. What a horrible comeback.

"Not before I caught your knife in mid-air," she says with a smirk.

Ronan raises his eyebrows even higher. "Don't take it personally, man. Clove here is the best of the best." He turns to her. "Any chance you're thinking of entering the Games?"

Only one word comes out of Clove's mouth: "Absolutely."

"Well, if I am the boy for District Two, please don't kill me," Ronan fake-begs.

Please don't kill me, either. I decide that on the rare off chance I do not win, I want Clove to win. Not because she's tough, because she's from District Two. But that doesn't mean I will hesitate if I come across her in the arena.


	2. Born to Die

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Hi! I don't think a lot of people are reading this, but I'm going to continue it anyway. Keep in mind that this is my first story! Comments, reviews and feedback are appreciated! Thank you and hope you like this chapter! **

**(Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Hunger Games**_** or its characters.)**

_**Chapter 2: Born to Die  
**_

**Clove**

Today is a good day.

I have been waiting for this day my entire life.

Today is the day of the reaping.

I get up from bed and fix it nicely, even though no one is here to see it. Before my mother passed away, she showed me a stash of dresses in her closet; she said she was saving them for me to wear to my reapings. I pick out a strapless emerald green dress, put it on, and look into my mirror. The dress brings out my brown-hazel eyes. I search my room for my silver necklace that I always save for special occasions and put that on too.

I walk to my bedroom window, open the shutters, and look outside. I can see specks of dust in the air, flying under the sun's rays. I see a few of my friends, including my best friend Saffron, and their families walking down the road toward the Main Square, and I wave to them. They wave back.

I leave my house and walk. My house is in the better part of the district, the wealthier one. Here the houses are made of sturdy stone. I do not know much about the poorer neighborhoods of the district, but I've seen enough to know that their houses are a lot smaller, the neighborhoods more crowded, and the homes themselves made of old wood. The people there in general are different than the people in, for example, my neighborhood.

I see more kids with their parents walking. For a quick moment I feel jealous, seeing as both my parents died in an accident. They were working on the statue that now dominates District Two's Main Square when part of the statue collapsed, sending more than forty workers to their deaths. The last time I saw my parents was before they left for work that morning, when we were in the middle of a big fight. The last words I said to them were, "I wish you were dead."

Yeah. Bad, right? I've been killing myself over it ever since, and whenever people mention my parents and how they were good people, I break down. Every time. The memory of our fight from that morning is still raw in my brain.

And it's not like my sister Lavender is ever around either. Ever since she got married, it's like I don't exist. I never see her and I never talk to her. I've never even met her kids. Which sucks, because we used to be super close. Ever since Mom and Dad died, she never so much as gave me a second glance. That's why I live alone in my parents' big house, dreading visits from Peacekeepers because they might find out there is no parent or guardian in the house. So much for family ties.

By the time I get to the town square, the reaping will start in a few minutes. I hurry to my section near the front and stand there. The sections are roped off and each section is arranged by age and gender, with the oldest in front, so right now I am standing with other fifteen-year-old girls. Most of my friends are older, so I don't really know anyone in my section too well except for Saffron. She stands next to me. I look in the boys' sixteen-year-old section in front of me and I see Ronan. We walk up to each other and hug.

"Ronan," I say in greeting.

"Clove," he replies.

"Saffron," Saffron says with a soft laugh.

"Hopefully one of us will get chosen," I say to Ronan. Not both, because then one of us will have to kill the other. Not good.

"Hopefully it's me," he says with a sly smile. I laugh.

A boy comes up to us. I don't recognize him at first but I see it is Cato, the boy who sat with us at lunch the other day after training. The one I kneed in his balls. Ha ha. That must have hurt.

"'Sup Ronan," he says. He nods at me and Saffron.

"Are you going to volunteer?" I say.

"I'm going to be the first one," he replies.

"So am I," I say.

He looks at me. "Well that sucks," he says. "Hopefully I won't have to kill you."

"Same."

I am thinking about what he said when I hear a loud voice boom through the air.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome," says a Capitol woman in a thick accent. "Today is the reaping for the Seventy-Fourth Annual Hunger Games! Today we will see one tribute boy and one tribute girl from the beloved District Two to go to the Capitol!"

Saffron and I share a look.

"My name is Anitah Kellet and I am here to escort District Two's victors! So, shall we get started?" Her voice booms through the square. "First, we will remember the rich history of our wonderful country of Panem."

And, like every year, we watch the history of a rebellion by the districts against the Capitol. After the rebellion, the Capitol held the Annual Hunger Games to remind everyone that the Capitol is in charge no matter what. Boring.

"Alright, everyone, as always, ladies first!" Anitah Kellet states after it is over.

Two Peacekeepers bring the girls' reaping ball forward. My name is in there forty-two times. Why so many? Let's just say a lot of kids here order tessarae in exchange for a bigger chance of getting picked on purpose.

Anitah reaches in and picks up a slip of paper.

She doesn't hesitate. "Waverly Perelle."

I speak so fast I do not even realize the words come out of my mouth.

"I volunteer!" My heart beats double overtime. Even though my words are followed by other girls' voices, I know everyone heard me yell first. Too bad for Waverly Perelle.

Anitah smiled a huge smile so big it must hurt her checks. "Oh, how I just love it when people show enthusiasm! Thank you for volunteering! Please step forward to face your district!"

So I do. I can barely keep myself from running onto the stage. I hear people cheering, and I think I hear Ronan and Saffron but I am probably imagining it. There are so many people yelling I cannot tell.

"Alright, I know you're excited, but we still need a boy tribute!" Anitah tries to calm the crowd down.

The Peacekeepers bring forward the boys' reaping ball. Anitah excitedly reaches in, and after a moment pulls out a slip of paper.

My heart sinks when I hear the name.

"Ronan Lavino."

In front of me, a tall blond boy jumps up and says "I volunteer as tribute!" That grabs Anitah's attention away from a few twelve-year-old boys yelling in the back and to the blond boy himself.

Cato.

**Cato**

A big smile crosses my face as I step forward. I can't help myself.

I walk forward, toward Anitah Kellet and the Peacekeepers and away from the other kids from my district that wanted so desperately to be a part of the Games. Like I am now.

When I get to the stage, I look out into the crowd. The person I am searching for waves back at me, a huge smile across her face. My mom. I hope she is proud.

"Well done! Now, what are your names?" Anitah Kellet asks.

"Clove Sevina," my fellow district tribute says, a touch of excitement in her voice.

"Cato Larek," I say after her. I hope people can hear the excitement in my voice too.

"Well, a big congratulations to the both of you!" She turns to the massive crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen of District Two, I present you your soon-to-be victors, Clove Sevina and Cato Larek!"

A huge round of applause erupts suddenly and I shake hands with Clove Sevina. Let's just say I can only hope someone else kills her before we are the last two in the arena.

Peacekeepers surround us, separating us from the crowd, and escort Clove and me into the Justice Building behind us. Soon Peacekeepers lead me into a room and shut the door. The room is definitely a room of the Capitol; red and gold carpets with elaborate furniture and richly painted walls stand in front of me.

Now is the time for tributes to say goodbye to their loved ones.

The first person to come in is Ronan. I brace myself, but he only says, "Well, if anyone volunteered for me, I'd have wanted it to be you." He shrugs.

"Thanks, man," I say gratefully. I am glad he is not mad. He understands. Since he got picked he had no chance of fighting in the Games anyway since so many people volunteer. Or maybe he just doesn't want to kill Clove. I know they're close, and for a second I wonder why he chose to visit me instead of her.

"I just wanted to say good luck," he says. "And to give you a warning. Clove is deadly. I mean _deadly_. She's my friend and everything, but I'm still telling you to be careful. She will do anything to win. Watch your back," he mutters.

I nod in response to this information. "So am I," I reply.

Ronan only shrugs. "Just…good luck. You'll need it if she's in the arena."

The Peacekeepers barge in. With a look on his face, Ronan lets the Peacekeepers march him out of the room, leaving me to mull over his words of warning.

Next comes in my mother. She pulls me into a tight hug. I feel wet spots on my shoulder and I realize she is crying. "I'm so happy for you," she chokes out. We pull apart. "When you come home, we're going to have a huge celebration in your honor. You'll see." She smiles and her eyes glisten. "I'm so proud of you."

My heart swells with happiness. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too."

We hug one more time. "Take this as your district token," she says. The tiny object she gives me is a miniature wooden cube. The corners are dull from years and years of rough play. "I remember this," I say. I got it along with other identical cubes as a gift from my mother when I was little. Memories flash through my mind back when my mother and I used to build tall towers with the blocks in my early childhood. I haven't seen these blocks in years.

I take the cube. With last goodbyes, the Peacekeepers come in and escort my mother out.

**Clove**

Saffron is my first and only visitor.

"You be careful," she says in a concerned voice. Saffron is not scared of the Games, but she wouldn't volunteer herself to participate. She thinks it is dangerous.

"I will, I will," I say, waving off her concern.

"Seriously! You don't know what could happen and you have no idea what the arena will be this year!" Saffron says quickly. I know what she means. One year, the arena was a desert and most of the tributes died of thirst or hunger. Not good.

"Ok, Saffron. I'll be careful."

"You better be," she says scornfully. "And watch out for that Cato boy, Ronan told me he really wants to win," she adds.

"I will," I say. "I want to win, too. We all do."

"I know."

There is a moment of silence, but it is a comfortable one. I won't see Saffron for a few more weeks. I'll definitely miss her, but it's worth the fun involved in the Games.

The Peacekeepers march in without knocking. "Goodbye, Clove," Saffron says in a weird tone. I say goodbye and she wishes me luck. Then the door slams shut.

And I am left alone.

I have to admit, it hurts that my sister didn't visit. Yes, we don't talk. Yes, she wants nothing to do with me. But I thought the fact that I will be competing for my life against other kids who want to win as well might make her have a change of heart.

I guess I was wrong.

**Okay, that took me a while to write. Reviews please! Like I said at the beginning of this chapter, this is my first story so feedback is welcome! I'll try to update at least once a week. Thanks for reading!**


	3. The Capitol

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Hey everyone. I Hope you enjoy this chapter, I know it's kind of boring, sorry! Keep in mind that this is my first story! Comments, reviews and feedback are appreciated! Thank you! **

**(Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Hunger Games**_** or its characters.)**

_**Chapter 3: The Capitol**_

**Clove**

Cato and I board the train that goes from the Justice Building to the Capitol. The ride is short, because of the breathtaking speed of the train. Usually, back in District Two, the trains are slower. We have a large district, so there are small trains that go from one end of the district to the other, but they aren't nearly as fast as the Capitol trains. The north side of the district is where the poorer neighborhoods and smaller shops are. The center is where the school, the Main Square, the Tribute Training Centers and the expensive shops and businesses are. The south side is full with the homes of the rich or middle class, along with our Victors' Village, where victors of all the past Games live. We've had to expand it twice because it is so full.

Anyway, we get to the Capitol only in a few hours, seeing as our district basically borders the Capitol. We are so close because we supply the Capitol with their Peacekeepers, and we are one of the favored districts.

I walk down the hallway into my room, which is truly magnificent. My "room" actually consists of a few rooms; a closet and dressing room, a bedroom, and a private bathroom. I walk straight into the bathroom and take a cool shower. After I come out, I get dressed and walk out of my room and down the hallway toward the dining room. Only I bump into someone the minute I close my bedroom door. Cato.

"Sorry," I say. I stay still, letting him walk ahead of me, but instead he waves me ahead. We walk together down the hall, looking for the dining room.

"So, what do you think the arena will be like this year?" I ask him to make conversation.

"Um," he says.

I'm not entirely sure. There's usually no way to predict what the Gamemakers will prepare for us, so he just shrugs. "There's probably gonna be some kind of forest. There usually are trees in almost every arena." Seeing as one year most of the tributes died from the cold, the Gamemakers usually provide trees for firewood.

We walk into the room, and it is empty except for an Avox. I ask him if we can eat, and he nods. We walk over to the table of food.

"I hope not," I reply. "Then everyone just hides in there, and we have to look for them."

Cato shakes his head with a laugh. "That's the game," I say. "It's more fun to hunt them down. That's the point."

I laugh, because his words make me realize how much I wish we could just go to the arena already. "I can't wait!" I say, sounding stupid but barely being able to contain my excitement.

"Me too," he says with a smirk.

Cato fills his plate with chicken and pasta, and I do the same. We seat ourselves at the dining table and wait to meet our mentors.

We don't have to wait long. A man and a young woman come into the room and fill their plates with food. The man looks strong and burly, and he looks like he could be middle-aged. The woman looks a lot younger. She is beautiful, and I automatically think back to the 71st Hunger Games, where she got her sponsors by using her beauty and charm to her advantage.

The woman turns to look at me. "My name is Avena, and this is Brutus." She gestures to the man accompanying her and she smiles. "We will be your mentors."

They sit down at the table and they don't waste time. Brutus says, "So, tell me about yourselves. What you can do."

Cato goes first. "I'm strong. I have good aim when I throw-"

"Right, good," Brutus interrupts. "And how about you, girl?"

"I have a name," I say.

Brutus seems amused. "Well, let's hear it."

"Call me Clove."

"Well, _Clove_, what can you do?"

I decide I do not like Brutus.

"I can throw too. Like Cato," I say, glancing at Cato. He is too busy eating to notice. "When I run, I'm really fast-"

"And what scores did you both have in Tribute Training back in Two?" Brutus interrupts once again.

Back home, we had to go through years of rigorous Tribute Training. Technically, districts are not allowed to prepare for the Hunger Games, but the Capitol lets their favorite districts slide. In Tribute Training, there are three categories of training you have to complete. Strength, Agility, and Skill. Obviously, Strength tests how strong you are. Agility tests you on how in shape you are, and how easily you can move around in battle. Skill tests how good you are with survival skills, weapons, etc. After each school year ends, you get three scores out of 20 for each category of Training.

"I have 12 for Strength, 16.5 in Agility, and 17 in Skill," I recite.

Brutus raises his eyebrows.

Cato stops eating, finally, and states his scores. "18 for Strength, 14 in Agility, and 17 in Skill."

Brutus nods. "Well," he says to Avena, who hasn't said a word yet, "Looks like we've got a good pair this year."

**Cato**

The food is so good. I'm practically inhaling everything.

Brutus starts to ask us questions, and for a moment I hate him because I'm trying to eat.

First he asks us what our skills are. Clove and I try to answer, but Brutus keeps interrupting. So I rudely eat while he is talking and only stop until it is my turn to answer a question.

After our meal, the train glides into the Capitol. We are here. Avena tells us to smile and wave out the windows. "We have to start getting sponsors right away," she explains.

So Clove and I wave and smile our way through the city until we get to the big building that is the Training Center. For a second I think of how it looks so alike to our Tribute Training Building back home.

Soon Clove and I are taken to the Remake Center. I grimace for a second because the people here are weird, and they talk about the stupidest things. I'm glad I don't live in the Capitol.

All they do to me is style my hair. I hear Clove cry out in pain in the other room and I laugh to myself, wondering about what she's going through.

"There, now you're ready to see your stylists!" One of them chirps excitedly when they look at Clove and me. They have weird accents, too.

Two women walk into the room. They tell us their names are Zaria and Estelle. Zaria is dressed in a simple all-black suit with the tips of her spiky hair dyed a bloody red. Estelle's skin is a light orange, with dark red hair and is dressed in a light colored dress. They both have that distinctive Capitol look upon them, but at the same time they look…good.

Zaria tells me she will be my stylist and Estelle will be Clove's stylist. They start talking about the Games and what they want to dress us up in for the next upcoming events. Zaria says we need to do our best to get sponsors. The fact that the Capitol already favors our district doesn't guarantee us anything.

All in all, I find the conversation boring.

"So," Zaria says, "Seeing as you're from District Two, you and Clove will have to be dressed in something to do with building and stonework."

I only nod, having no idea what we will be wearing this year.

"At first we had no idea what to design, but then we thought it would be good to show the strength of District Two through your costumes," Estelle explains. "We have the costumes ready for you."

So they usher Clove and me into dressing rooms and we get dressed. Clove takes longer to come out because she has more makeup on. Soon enough, though, she comes out.

My mouth gapes open.

Clove looks fierce, deadly, and above all, beautiful. She wore a costume identical to mine: gold body armor with hard gold plates covering her torso, a gold helmet with wings on each side of her head, and a flowing golden cape that flows behind her. All the gold reflects off her costume, and mine, making us appear to have a shiny glow surrounding us, like a halo. Her face is flawless…not that it ever isn't, but…not that I see her like that…well, you know what I mean.

She grins a cocky grin. "Close your mouth, you'll catch bugs," she says mockingly. I close my mouth. She hesitates for a moment and then says, "You don't look so bad yourself."

Zaria and Estelle hurry us onto out chariot, which is black with gold plating. It is pulled by two huge midnight-black stallions. I know for a fact we are going to look strong and deadly. I can't wait.

I see District One's chariot pull out in front of us. They look good but at the same time petty, dressed in shiny, flashy clothing. I make a face and I see Clove doing the same.

"Alright, when you go out, wave to the crowd! I want big smiles! _Big smiles!_ Cheer with the crowd, encourage them, show them you are confident and strong!" Zaria instructs excitedly. "You both look wonderful. This is the time to get sponsors! Most of the other districts don't stand out, if you look back behind you District 7 is dressed in all white, District 11 is dressed in farmers' clothes, and District 12 is in all black coal miners' outfits like usual. Now look at yourselves. This is your time to shine!" Clove and I nod and then the chariots start to move forward.

I plaster on my biggest, most confident smile I have and I wave to the crowd, which is roaring with excitement. People throw flowers and kisses toward the chariots, and I see Clove blowing kisses back. I look at the screen televising each district's entrance and I see I am right; Clove and I look unbelievably strong and radiant. Zaria and Estelle have truly outdone themselves.

Then something strange happens. Everyone looks toward the back of the chariot line and the crowd practically explodes. Cheering and whooping louder than before. I think back to what Estelle said about the last few chariots with plain-looking tributes, so I am confused. I look at Clove for an explanation but she only shrugs.

When we get to the front of the crowd, I finally get to look back. I still see seven more chariots being pulled, and…at the end…was that fire?

"Clove," I say, getting her attention. I point with my chin to the last chariot and laugh. "Something happened. District Twelve's chariot caught on fire!"

Clove's face turns into one of surprise when she spots the last chariot. We are laughing with each other until the chariot reaches the front of the crowd.

The chariot is not on fire. It was not an accident.

The tributes themselves. Their costumes are burning. And they aren't being burned.

And the audience is going crazy.

**Clove**

Cato's body rocks with anger. I am angry too. District Twelve is stealing practically the whole audience's attention!

They are on fire. Literally. Now though, now that I've gotten a closer look, I don't think it is real fire. It's just part of the costume.

"Who do they think they are?" Cato whispers madly in my ear. "Since when does District Twelve ever actually look appealing? Since when do they play a big part in the Games!"

"Calm down, Cato, " I say, putting my hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "It's only the chariot outfit. It's only their appearance. I seriously doubt they will actually be good in the Games. Cato. Cato! Calm down!"

He suddenly turns to me to say something, but President Snow interrupts him with a welcome message. I can't help noticing the cameras are fully focused on District Twelve's chariot, even though they are supposed to be showing every tribute's face up close.

After President Snow is finished, the chariots loop around the circle one more time for the audience and then disappear into the Training Center.

Once the doors shut, Zaria and Estelle run up to us and help us down from our chariots. "You both have done brilliantly," Estelle says, but I now what she's thinking. District Twelve was the best by far. Cato and I give the District Twelve tributes, a stocky blond boy and a small skinny girl, mean looks. They got such good stylists! I mean, don't get me wrong, Zaria and Estelle are cool, but…still.

But then I think about it. They do not look like anything impressive. They look like the kind of tributes that are easy to kill off once the Games start. I know it's bad to underestimate my enemies, but I can't help it. I turn away from them and tell Cato to do the same. "They're not worth it," I tell him.

.

Today is the first day of training. When I wake up, I see an Avox laying out clothes for me on a bureau. I say thank you and I slip into my outfit, a simple black thing with a red and a grey stripe running down the side and a red number "2" on each arm.

We are already technically in the Training Center, but there is a separate tower that branches off from the main building. It has a floor for each district to stay in until the Games start. Cato, Brutus, Avena and I share the second floor.

I walk down the hallway to District Two's dining room. Each floor has their own rooms, so I don't need to take an elevator to get there.

Anitah Kellet joins us for breakfast. I didn't even know she was here with us. It turns out she will be escorting us right until we enter the arena. Too bad. She is too perky and annoying for my taste.

After a delicious breakfast, Brutus instructs us to take the elevator down to the Training Center. "Look impressive," he says. "Obviously, you both are going to be Careers, but do not make any move to ally with Districts One and Four until they come up to you first." He turns to me. "Clove, I know you like your knives. Make sure to throw a lot of those, and _make sure_ the other tributes see."

I nod.

Then he turns to Cato. "You," he starts. "You are very strong. _Use that to your advantage_. Throw things around. Lift weights. Try as best you can to intimidate the weaker or smaller tributes, and to impress the other Careers."

He escorts us both to the elevator.

"But what about survival skills?" I ask. Personally, I think they are a waste of time, but you never know.

Cato shakes his head. "We won't need any. We've got the Cornucopia, remember?" He looks at Brutus for confirmation. "Right?"

Brutus nods. "You won't be needing any of that," he says to me. I nod and the elevator arrives. Cato and I get in and press the button of the floor for the Training Center.

It is a silent ride down. For a moment, Cato and I make eye contact, and that's when the silence gets awkward. I realize I don't want him to die. I don't want anyone to kill him. Yet, I already accept his death because I want to get home myself. I think of all the laughs we have had in the past few days, and I think, given different circumstances, we could be friends. I barely have time to wish that we had known each other back in District Two when the elevator doors open.

Now I see the other districts up close, what they really are under all the costumes and makeup from the chariot rides. Most of them aren't anything special, except a large, burly looking boy from Eleven and the kids from One and Four, who are probably thinking the same thing.

The elevator opens once again and I see the tributes from District Twelve walk in. Maybe they came last to make an entrance. I don't know. All I do know is that my annoyance must show on my face because Cato laughs quietly and shakes his head. "Just ignore them," he says. His calculating eyes stare them up and down for a second and he turns back to me. He leans down and whispers in my ear, "They don't look like anything special. We can beat them easily."

I agree with a grin and turn to a raised platform, where a tall woman demands out attention.

"Welcome all," she says in a graceful voice. "My name is Atala and I am here to introduce to you the training schedule." She does not smile. Her face is devoid of any emotion, which takes away from her words of welcome. "Take a look around the room," she says, gesturing with her arms. "As you can see, there are several different stations to which you may travel to and from whenever you please, or whenever our mentors say so. Practice known talents or discover new ones. There will be _no combat_ with other tributes. There will be specialists and professionals for each station that are there to aid you in your next three days of training. At noon you will proceed through those doors-" she points to a set of double doors at the end of the room, "and eat lunch in the mess hall."

Atala starts to read off the names of each station, but I lose interest. Apparently, Cato does as well. I notice the girl from District Twelve staring at us. I smile a truly wicked smile, cross my arms, and do not break my gaze. Cato has his own intimidating stance, and, I have to admit, If I were that girl I would be scared. Imagine, not being trained to fight, but being raised to fear the Hunger Games. To fear the arena. To stay away from the Career tributes because they are deadly and never hesitate to kill.

The boy and girl from District One are doing the same. They have walked up to us and are staring down the girl too. I almost laugh to myself. It is already given that we have allied as the official 74th Hunger Games Careers and are already planning to kill her right away. I glance at the girl from One and smile a knowing smile. She returns it with pleasure.

"Alright, everyone," Atala finally finishes. "You may begin training."

Cato nudges me and points to the station with axes, spears, swords and knives. I nod with a grin and we walk over, the kids from One following us. Cato picks up a heavy-looking sword, and I pick up a knife. The girl from One copies me and the boy from One takes a spear. After a few seconds of getting familiar with our weapons, we walk over to the targets. Cato takes up combat with a specialist aid and I start throwing along with the kids from District One.

My first throw hits a target dead center. No surprise there. "Nice throw," the boy from one says. "I'm Marvel," he introduces himself. "That over there is Glimmer."

I nod. "My name's Clove," I say. I point to Cato, who is now maneuvering his sword against two aids with ease. "That's Cato," I say. "Watch out for him."

"And from the looks of your throwing, watch out for you too," he compliments me.

I pick up another knife and throw. _Thump_. It hits the center. "Well," I say. "Let's see you throw, then?"

He picks up a knife and throws. Not bad, but there's room for improvement. "I'm better with spears," he says with a grin.

I decide to offer him advice. "When you throw, balance your feet more. Spread them out so your balance is stable and strong."

He is about to try throwing again when Cato and the girl from One comes over, his arm slung casually around her shoulder. "This is Glimmer," he says. She laughs, or maybe it is closer to a giggle. She slings her arm around him and turns to me. "Hi, it's Clove, right?"

"Yes," I say, but the word comes out weird. Apparently Cato notices too, because he glances at me, his eyebrows bunching in confusion, but I shake my head and dismiss it. "Yeah, I'm Clove. Nice to meet you, Glimmer."

That annoying giggle comes out of her mouth again and she walks away toward one of the trainers. There she picks up a knife and asks him to help her throw.

A flash of annoyance spreads through me as I look at her. She seems simpleminded enough, but I still think something is wrong. Or at least suspicious. All I know is, I do _not_ like the way she laughs around Cato.

This thought alarms me. I barely know the boy, and yet I'm already getting territorial around him? Especially when I'm about to kill him in a week?

Marvel nudges me with his elbow and I surface from my thoughts. He gestures to the weightlifting station and asks me if I want to see him lift. I say yes, and with that, I gladly leave Cato and Glimmer to lift weights with Marvel.

**Cato**

It is lunchtime now. Glimmer and I put down our spears and meet up with Clove and the boy from One, Marvel I think. The four of us walk down to the dining hall.

Once in the hall I see carts of food throughout the room. We have to serve ourselves. Clove moves to get a plate and I follow her, cutting Glimmer off mid-sentence.

Clove sees me approach her. "So, what do you think of District One?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

I fill my plate with mashed potatoes and steak. "I never talked to Marvel, but Glimmer seems okay." Clove makes a face I don't think I was meant to see. "A bit annoying, actually." I rush the words out of my mouth.

"Oh," Clove says. I can hear the relief in her voice, though I don't think she meant for me to hear it. When she turns around to fill her plate with some potatoes, I realize I am smiling to myself.

I catch myself. I can be friends with-or at least, temporarily be friends with-Glimmer if I want to. Clove can't stop me.

And yet for a moment I allow myself to think there is something more than friendship on her mind.

No. That can't be. Why would I like Clove? I mean, she's pretty enough, and she seems like someone I could get along with, but this is the Hunger Games. The _Hunger Games_! Where I'm supposed to kill her if it comes down to it!

I think about Glimmer as Clove and I each grab a cup of water and place it on our trays. Even if it were under different circumstances I would never look at her that way. Why would Clove jump to that conclusion? With every thought that comes to mind, the more confused I get.

"Hello?"

"What?"

"I said have you met the District Four kids yet?"

"Oh," I say, relieved she didn't pick up on my thoughts. "No, I didn't."

"Well, Marvel says they want to meet us." She pauses for a second. "Let's go sit with them."

"Whatever you say," I answer. We walk over to Marvel's table, where Glimmer and the District Four kids are being noisy and laughing with each other. Clove sits down next to Marvel, so I sit down next to Glimmer.

"Heeeey, Cato," Glimmer chirps.

"Stop being a flirt," Marvel snaps. Then he and Glimmer start laughing, and I start laughing too.

"Look at this year's batch," the girl from Four says to her district partner. She shrugs. "Don't look like much, do they?"

Clove cuts in. "Look at the boy from Eleven. He looks like something."

I agree with Clove. "And I think-"

I stop mid-sentence as I hear laughter. _Laughter_. Not from our table. Who else would sit together? Normally non-Career tributes don't make alliances this early on. Everyone at my table turns around to see…

Ah, of course. The boy and girl from District Twelve. Why are they sitting together?

Clove nudges me across the table. "They're even wearing the same clothes," she snickers.

I look back at the boy and girl and I realize Clove is right. It's like they're…twins or something. Or they are actually friends.

I also remember, back during the chariot ride, that they were holding hands. Strange.

"Did you hear me, Cato?"

"Uh, sorry what?"

"I said forget about them. They're probably not even going to make it from the Cornucopia," Glimmer chirps dismissively.

"Right," I say, not really paying attention.

I sneak a glance at Clove. We share a look. She must feel the same way, then. I can't shake the feeling that these two tributes, nobodies from District Twelve, are up to something. All I know is that they won't survive Clove and me. This year's Games is certainly going to be fun.

Today is the second day of training. We are eating breakfast when Brutus and Avena ask about our Career alliance.

Since I am too busy eating to answer, Clove says, "District One seemed eager to ally with us. Four, on the other hand, didn't really talk to us."

"Okay," Brutus concludes. "Ally with One, obviously, but maybe Four isn't interested in being Careers this year."

"Or maybe they're waiting to see if you two are valuable enough to have as Career allies," Avena chimes in.

I swallow my food. "I don't think Four is very interested in us. The only time we were together yesterday was during lunch. One and Four sat with us." I take another huge mouthful of food.

Oh, speaking of lunch," Clove starts, "Yesterday I saw the boy from Eleven. I really think he's going to be hard to beat. And the two kids from Twelve are practically glued to each other. The rest don't seem like much."

Brutus raises his eyebrows at this. "Do you happen to know who their mentors are?"

"No," Clove and I say together. I add, "We should watch the reapings."

"Ah, yes!" Anitah Kellet says, happy to finally be a part of the conversation. "I have all the reapings recorded, so we can watch them before you go to training today."

We all nod and finish our food.

District One is as excited for the Games as our district was. There was even a commotion of whether a thirteen-year-old boy called out to volunteer first or whether Marvel did. We saw our reaping, where Clove volunteered for Waverly, my friend Rhia's little sister, and Ronan was called, and I jumped up to volunteer for him. The rest of the districts were a blur until…can you guess?

For District Twelve's reaping, some little girl was called, and the skinny girl we saw in the Training Center volunteered for her. Twelve's district escort asked if they were related. The volunteer said yes.

After the blond boy was called, some drunk man stumbled onto the stage, and then fell off the stage to the ground. Clove burst out laughing, and I joined in. What an embarrassment! Even Brutus and Avena were shaking their heads.

"My goodness," Anitah Kellet says in disgust. "How can they stand for their citizens to act like that. Especially their only mentor! Can you _believe_-"

"Wait wait wait wait," I say, interrupting. "That's their mentor? That old drunken man?"

"You're kidding," says Clove, surprised.

"Yes, I believe that's Haymitch Abernathy," Brutus says, identifying the man. "Seems like he lost his charm." He chuckles.

"How the hell did he win his Games?" Clove says with a look of disbelief.

Brutus shrugs. "Don't remember much about that year, just that he was smarter than the others."

I raise my eyebrows.

"Ah look at the time!" Anitah exclaims. "It's time for you to go to training! Go, go, go!" Anitah practically shoves us to the elevator.

"Any advice?" Clove asks.

Avena talks first. "Don't push an alliance with Four, it doesn't seem like they're interested this year," she says.

"And keep an eye out for District Twelve," Brutus inputs. "And don't forget that boy from Eleven. I caught a glimpse of him during the chariot ride, and he's as big as I was during my Games," he says sourly.

Clove and I nod and step into the elevator. Clove pushes a button and we zoom downward.

**Reviews and feedback please! I'm going to be on vacation for two weeks starting Saturday, so I don't know if I will be able to update during that time. Sorry. **

**This chapter took me a while to write, mostly because I had to keep referring to the book for the chariots and the Training Center and stuff. Hopefully you all enjoy my hard work! **** -Brittany**

**P.S. Some of you have PMed me asking who Avena is and why Enobaria isn't the female mentor. There are a lot of victors in District Two who are able to be mentors; Avena happens to be one of them.**


	4. District Twelve?

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**So sorry for not updating for like almost three weeks, I was on vacation but now I'm back. Hope you enjoy. Comments, reviews and feedback are appreciated. Thank you! **

**(Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Hunger Games**_** or its characters.)**

_**Chapter 4: District Twelve?**_

**Clove**

Today is the last day of training, when we each have private sessions to impress the Gamemakers. Brutus has told Cato and me to enlist the big boy from Eleven into our Career alliance. I have no problem with that; I kept an eye on him from the start.

Near the end of our last session, I approach the boy at the edible plants station. "I would think," I say slowly, "with you being from Eleven, that you know what plants to eat and what to not eat."

He shakes his head and I hear his voice for the first time. "Just practicing." It comes out deep and rough.

"I'm Clove."

"Thresh. You're from Two, right?"

I nod in response. I watch him for a few minutes, and I think of how he will do in the Games if he decides to not join the Career alliance. He will probably do well surviving by himself, and he is certainly strong enough to kill other tributes, but I can't figure out his strategy. Maybe he is the confronting type, which seems to fit his whole appearance more, or maybe it is all just an act. Maybe he hides and runs, waiting for us to pluck out the weaker competition before coming out and fighting to win.

"I saw you lifting weights," I say conversationally. "You weren't bad. Maybe even good enough to-"

He turns to me and his face changes. "Thanks," he says, not looking like he is thankful at all, "but I'm not interested. I'm doing my own thing." He gets up and walks away to another station, leaving me there staring at some poisonous leaves.

I feel a tap on my shoulder. "Did you get him?" I see Cato and Glimmer standing there.

"He says he's going to do his own thing," I say regretfully. Well, at least we'll have a good challenge eliminating him then.

Glimmer frowns and shrugs. "Oh well. Good luck on your private sessions you guys, I've got to go," she says when Marvel beckons her to the elevator going upstairs. Cato and I say goodbye and she goes off with Marvel.

"Speaking of private training sessions," Cato says, "what are you doing?" he asks curiously.

I shrug. "Probably throw some knives around. I'm going to run the obstacle course, and maybe use some of the other weapons, too." I'm still not sure yet. "You?"

Cato doesn't hesitate. "Use my strength," he says. "Throw spears. Something impressive you're not allowed to know," he says with a smirk.

I elbow him. "I bet I'm going to get a better score than you," I tease.

"Yeah right," he says with a loud laugh.

.

**Cato**

All the tributes wait in silence. I sit next to Glimmer, and she's going off about what she might do, but I am not listening. This is my chance to impress the whole country, and at the same time intimidate my competitors. I predict Clove and I will get somewhere around 8 or 9, maybe even 10. Hardly anyone gets a 10, seeing as it's so high up of a score. But I am only kidding myself. I already know the Careers will dominate the scoreboards.

Sitting across from us, I see Clove talking to Marvel. I hear the words "knife" and "thank you" come out of Clove's mouth, and suddenly I wish I knew what they were talking about.

Marvel is called first. He looks back at Glimmer. "I know you'll do well," she says. They smile at each other. Then he nods at Clove and then to me. With that he walks inside.

Soon, Glimmer is called, and before I know it it's my turn. Clove wishes me luck and I walk inside.

I look at the Gamemakers. "I'm Cato Larek. From District Two," I announce. Some nod in approval and others are starting to fill their glasses with rich Capitol wine. After a few seconds they are all staring intently at me, waiting for me to start.

I walk over to the weapons station. I drag the dummies to the edge of the room, so they are touching the wall. I grab my trademark sword and a few spears. Then I walk to the beginning of the obstacle course on the other side of the room. I run, weapons still in hand. I jump over the gaps between the platforms, dodge the fake dummy attacks, and then I throw each of my spears at the dummies on the opposite side of the room, back at the weapons station. Each one hits a dummy straight to the heart. I jump down at the end of the course, somersault forward and shoot up.

Now I see a trainer waiting for me, sword in hand. I lift my sword, challenging him, and he comes forward. Our swords clash. He jabs his sword below my arm right to my stomach but I bring my sword down just in time and push it against him, making him stagger backward. I jump forward and he stabs at my face but I drop to the ground and swing my leg out, knocking him over his feet. When he falls to the ground I jump and sit on top of him, my sword touching his throat. I hear loud applause from the Gamemakers and even a few whistles. I bask in my pride for a moment and then stand up.

I only have a few minutes left to kill, so I head over to the weights station and take the biggest balls and lift them, and one at a time I hurtle them toward the dummies I stabbed with my spears not ten minutes earlier. Each one crushes a dummy, and the Gamemakers stand up from their seats, clapping and whooping. I wish I could do more but my time is up.

The trainer I had fought not a minute ago escorts me to the elevator and I ride it up toward my district's floor. On the way out, I see trainers already cleaning up my mess, putting the dummies, the weight balls, and the spears al back in place so Clove can have her private session.

I have to say, I am pretty impressed with myself. I know I have the skills to win the Games.

I imagine what it will be like when I get home. Back to District Two. My mother will be so proud. And my sisters, too. They weren't able to visit me before I left, because they were working, but the last time I saw each of them, they both wished me luck. They're too old to enter the Games, and when they were young enough people always volunteered before them. So they were happy for me when I said I was going to volunteer.

I am excited until I think about Clove. She definitely has what it takes to win, but the question is, will it be her or me? I know I have to win, and I know she has to die, right?

The thought of her dying dampens my happy mood. I'm not supposed to say this, because there is only one victor for the Hunger Games, but…I don't want her to die. For the first time in my entire life, I feel worried about the Games. What am I going to do? The most I _can_ do for her is to hope her passing will be quick and painless. Then another though crosses my mind.

I could let her win.

I shake my head vehemently, as if to shake the words from my brain. What am I thinking? I have trained my whole life for this. I was born to win. I have to win.

Even if it means she has to die.

.

**Clove**

Cato's private session has just finished. I only have to wait a few more minutes until the door opens, and I am called to go in. I stand up and walk forward. I am the last official Career to have their private session.

On my way to the door, I pass the girl from District Eleven. No, wait. Twelve. She glances at me as I pass by and I glare at her. If only we were in the arena. Then I could kill her already. Unless Cato kills her first.

I walk into the room.

The Gamemakers seem excited to see me, I guess because Cato did well before me. The thought of me getting a lower training score than him makes me want to throw something. He'll hold it against me forever.

I tell them I am from District Two, and then I head past the knot-tying station. I never went there yesterday or the day before, but how hard can it be to die a decent knot? And why would I need to tie knots when I'm a Career? Everything I need will be in the Cornucopia. I shake my head as I head to the weapons station.

I pick up ten deadly looking knives and stick some in my belt. I see the dummies lined up near the weapons station. I walk as close to the Gamemakers' table as I can and then I turn around and run so I am running parallel to the line of dummies. I somersault, then jump up as high as I can and throw the first knife toward the second dummy. _Thump!_ I do the same thing for the next eight knives, doing tricks as I run to impress the people watching me. _Thump! Thump!_

When I am done, I have the biggest knife left. I stop running and turn around to face the first dummy, which is all the way back near the Gamemakers' table. This is why I had skipped it earlier. I get into throwing position, I then take a deep breath. Then I run a few paces, somersault, jump up, and close my eyes.

Then I throw.

I don't need to hear the thump to know I've hit the dummy.

And I don't need to open my eyes to know I've hit it straight into the middle of its forehead.

I open my eyes and I hear clapping and loud cheering. They dismiss me and, pleased with myself, I walk into the elevator that takes me upward.

.

Later, when we are upstairs eating dinner, Brutus talks. "So," he says between bites, "Did you get Thresh?"

"No," I say. "He's not interested."

Brutus doesn't show any sign of acknowledgement at my words. "Shame," he says. "That means you have to watch out for him later on, especially you, Clove."

Avena cuts in before I can feel offended. "He's right. You are a good fighter, but he is still a lot bigger and stronger than you. Be careful," she warns.

"Don't worry, she's quick enough to run from him if she has to," Cato says, looking at me. Normally, people would think of his words as a compliment, but I know better. He's saying I'm not skilled enough to handle him in battle. He's saying I would rather run away than confront him directly, which is definitely not true.

But then I think about it. If it came down to it, Thresh could most definitely beat me in combat. He's huge, and really strong. The best chance I would have at killing him is if I threw a knife at him from far away. Normally I'm good in hand-to-hand combat, and maybe I am quick enough to evade his hard punches and strong kicks. But he would definitely beat me in the strength department.

"I guess so," I conclude. Cato raises his eyebrows, but I ignore him as he shoves a huge forkful of food into his already full mouth.

"Well, just use your speed to your advantage," Brutus suggests. "Make _him_ chase _you_. We all already know you're faster. When you get far enough away from him," he chortles, "toss him a knife." Cato laughs.

"I won't let him kill me," I say, my voice full of confidence. I could take him, if I follow Brutus's instructions. Plus I have three other Careers who are all just as skilled as I am. We can do this.

Cato laughs. "You better not let him kill you," he teases. After he stops laughing, he adds, "Seriously." Then before I can look at him he practically inhales two more forkfuls of rich Capitol pasta.

Me, let Thresh kill me? Over my dead body….Well, you know what I mean. "I won't," I say. I scoop some pasta into my mouth.

"How did your sessions go?" Avena asks to break the silence. I know her and Brutus already know we did well.

"Good," Cato shrugs, but I can tell he can barely hold his excitement in. I don't blame him. I want to see our scores so badly!

"What did you do?" I ask, encouraging him.

A huge smile takes over his face. "I threw weights and spears at the dummies while running the obstacle course, and then I fought the trainer." He goes into detail about every single move he made during combat, using hand motions and all, and all I can do is laugh and eat some more pasta.

"I actually closed my eyes when I threw," I say smugly. "_And_ I hit those dummies dead center."

Cato frowns in mock jealousy and says, "Not bad, not bad."

I shove him playfully. "Whatever, Cato. You had to be there."

After dinner we all file down the hall to the sitting room. There we turn on the television and wait for Marvel's score to appear.

Soon enough, Marvel's picture flashes on the screen. Then a large silver "9" appears. Then Glimmer's photo pops up, and she gets a 9 as well.

Cato's picture comes first. I hear Brutus and Cato thumping on the table to mimic drumrolls and a silver "10" appears under his name.

I raise my eyebrows and nod. Just what he was aiming for, I bet. He's whooping when my name and picture comes up.

Cato makes another drumroll and urges me to join in. I do.

A silver number flashes on the screen.

10.

A huge smile appears on my face. Cato and I are whooping and jumping now, and we hug to congratulate each other. "And _you_ thought you'd get a higher score," I rub his words in his face. He shoves me lightly and that's when Brutus says, "Well, we already knew you'd get high scores." Avena just shakes her head, a smile on her face.

By the time we settle down, District Four's scores are on the screen. The boy got an 8 and the girl got a 9. This is when I realize Cato and I have the highest scores. I grin and no longer pay attention to the TV.

The only other scores that stand out are Thresh and his companion. I forget her name, something with an "R" I think. They both manage sevens.

Until District Twelve appears.

.

**Cato**

I'm whopping and cheering, but a tiny corner of my mind is thinking bout Clove's score. Ten. That will only make her that much harder to kill.

If she got a Ten, that means she'll make it into the final eight. Not that she wouldn't have already. But that also means there will be less people alive to kill her. I dread the thought that comes next; what if we are the last two in the arena? I'll kill her if I have to, but I'd really rather not have it come down to that.

And there's the reality that she might even beat me. She's definitely skilled enough. And smart enough.

Clove is shaking my shoulder. "Thresh got a Seven," I hear her say. I look at the screen and see his district partner, a tiny little girl, get a seven too. "Interesting," I say. Interesting.

The blond boy from District Twelve appears. He gets an Eight.

My face scrunches up in confusion.

"What?" I hear Clove say disbelievingly. "What? How does someone from District _Twelve_, of all places, manage a _Career score_?"

Brutus only shakes his head.

"You can't underestimate your competition," Avena says, but I can tell even she is astonished. District Twelve never gets higher than a four, sometimes five. How do they get from _four_ to _eight_?

Before I know it, the girl from District Twelve appears. I pay attention intently; if she gets an Eight too, I know for a fact she will be the first person I will kill in that damned arena.

But she doesn't get an Eight.

She doesn't get a Nine, either.

Ten? Not even.

"_What?_" Clove jumps up in outrage. "How? _How?_ How can some _stupid_ skinny girl from _Twelve_, the most _pathetic_ excuse for a district, get _that_? How the hell can a girl from the _worst _district get the _highest score?_" Clove is in a huge fit, yelling and throwing the pillows she was sitting on not a moment ago. She has officially gone mad.

Not that I blame her.

It is now that I finally learn her name. Katniss. The stupid girl got an Eleven. An _Eleven_. My body rocks with anger. I jump up faster than Clove did. A deep frustrated growl explodes out of my mouth and Clove screams in anger.

Even Brutus's mouth gapes open. I'm sure he's never seen this in his lifetime.

"Well," Brutus pales, "You just have to-"

"Have to _what_?" I say, my voice low with red hot anger dripping from every word. "Who _knows_ what she did in her session! Some stupid poor girl from District Twelve has to be taken seriously because of her damn Eleven!" I am yelling now. I can barely pay attention to anyone else. I hear our district escort, Anitah, trying to calm me down but I ignore her. I throw the vase on the glass coffee table in front of me across the room and it shatters loudly when it hits the wall. I can't believe this.

I turn around. One look at Avena and I know I have to calm down. She puts a hand on my shoulder and I shake it off harshly. "Sorry," I mumble quickly. She shakes her head, dismissing my hasty apology. Then two Avoxes hurry to clean the mess up before someone steps on it.

Clove is still yelling. Brutus and Avena leave the room in silence, leaving Anitah yelling at the Avoxes to not get the glass shards anywhere onto the floor.

"Clove," I say firmly.

The sound of her name seems to bring her back to Earth. "What," she says, the end of the word sounding sharp with rage.

"We can still beat them. We've been training our whole lives for this. They've only picked up weapons for the first time not two days ago."

She shakes her head. "But-"

"Just don't think about it," I tell her. But even as I say the words I know I won't be happy until Katniss is dead.

.

**Clove**

I wake up the next morning with a newfound energy. I wish the Games were today.

Today is Sunday, a day of preparation before the interviews. Anitah is teaching me how to sit and walk like a polite young woman. Of course, I'm not trying to come off as polite.

Apparently, I get it right away. Anitah is pleased with my performance and said I am "a real lady". How nice.

Next I practice with Brutus. He would ask me questions to help me make an appearance for myself. He says I should try to be "polite enough, and friendly. Show them you're determined and won't give up."

"In that case, she doesn't have to try," Cato chuckles.

The next day comes quickly and I am pumped and excited for the interviews. For now, though, Cato and I are stuffing ourselves with rich Capitol food.

"I wonder what Marvel and Glimmer are saying about the training scores," I say before stuffing a forkful of juicy steak into my mouth.

"They got lower scores than us," Cato says happily. "They won't make a big deal out of it now, but I think it's going to make them split up from us earlier. I say when it gets down to the final seven, we ditch them and then we can figure it out from there."

I nod. "Fine with me," I say.

Soon Zaria and Estelle come up to our floor and call Cato and me to the dressing rooms. I take a lot longer because of my makeup, and they have to make last-minute alterations to my dress. My prep team flits around me like little animals, talking and chirping away. They remind me of birds. I am beautiful in my dress, I'm not going to lie. My dark brown hair is up in a loose, elegant ponytail at the top of my head and my dress is a light orange shade. My torso is covered in stiff orange material that opens up into soft warm waves that go down to my feet. They keep my makeup simple, saying I should look like myself.

When Cato comes out of his dressing room, he looks truly deadly in what looks like a black suit, but when you look more closely it is actually iridescent. We compliment each other and walk to the front of the City Circle.

It is dark outside now, and herds of Capitol citizens are gathering in front of the City Circle, where Caesar Flickerman and his blue hair are talking about the beginning of the Seventy-Fourth Annual Hunger Games. All the tributes line up according to district, with Glimmer in front. I wish her good luck and she goes up. Caesar asks her questions about the Games and her strategy, and compliments her on her dress when the buzzer rings, signaling three minutes. Then Marvel is going up. Caesar asks him about his family back home and how it felt at his reaping when they were debating who volunteered first. As for his strategy…let's just say Marvel doesn't seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Before I know it, I am being called. I walk up slowly, trying to calm the adrenaline running through me. I walk onto the stage and I see bright lights and cameras and people cheering and whooping and clapping. Caesar invites me to sit down in the round white chair in front of me and I do. He introduces me. "Alright, everyone, let's give a big warm welcome to District Two's Clove Sevina!"

.

**Cato**

On the TV in the waiting room, I see Clove sitting down on the stage next to Caesar Flickerman. The first thing he does is compliment her dress and her chariot ride outfit.

"Well, someone's looking incredibly stunning, doesn't she? He asks the audience, who whoops and cheers in response. Clove says thank you.

"So, Clove, what about your training score? I bet you were expecting _that_, right?" he laughs and a few of the audience members join in.

She nods with a grin on her face. "Definitely. I've trained my whole life for this. I'm going to win." Her voice has a certain determination to it that gets the audience going. "I know it."

"Well, I bet you will," he encourages. "There are rumors going around about you," Caesar winks.

"Oh, really," Clove says mockingly. Some of the audience laughs. "Like what?"

"Well, I don't know about you guys," he says to the audience, "but I heard you're really good with knives," Caesar says in a daring voice. "Is it true?"

"I think," Clove pauses for dramatic effect, "you all will get to see the answer to that when I'm in the arena." She laughs and a few Capitol people groan in mock disappointment. A few voices call out to her saying for her to tell them now, but she laughs and shakes her head. "Sorry!" she says good-naturedly.

"Oh, don't be!" Caesar says excitedly. "I think you like being surprised," he says to people in the audience. A few yell in agreement.

Caesar I about to ask her something about the Games tomorrow, but the buzzer rings too quickly and the audience groans. Caesar says goodbye and wishes her luck, and then I am called to the stand.

**Clove**

I'm walking back down to my assigned seat to watch the rest of the interviews when Cato is called onto the stage. Caesar introduces him and he sits down, crossing his leg so his left ankle rests on his right knee. I laugh to myself because he already looks so confident and self-centered. The way a lot of Careers look. He's smiling at the audience when Caesar starts his interview.

"So, Cato from District Two," Caesar says, "I must say you look dashing in that suit of yours, don't we all agree?" he asks Cato, while at the same time prompting the crowd. They start cheering and whooping. I hear several people even calling Cato's name.

"Alright, calm down, let's not waste our precious amount of time!" Caesar says, quieting the audience down. He turns to Cato. "Cato, can you tell us why you volunteered for this year's Games?"

He plasters a huge smile on his face. "I know I can win," He says confidently. "I was raised to volunteer. There's no way I'm missing out."

Caesar raises his eyebrows, and some people whoop. "Looks like the other tributes are going to need a lot to even come close to beating you, I have to say!" He says with an excited tone, and the audience cheers once again. Cato agrees and laughs with the crowd.

"Well, well! I have another question for you, but I think the answer is obvious." He pauses for dramatic effect. "Cato, are you going to win this year's Hunger Games?"

I put on a knowing smile. "I think the audience can answer that." Cato looks to the audience and puts his hand to his ear, waiting for their response. He gets loud cheering and whooping and I hear people yelling "Yes!" and "We're rooting for you, Cato!"

Caesar laughs encouragingly. "Well of course, right? I mean, look at you, you're a killing machine! You're definitely in shape, and, I daresay, you have many hidden talents that got you that 10 in Training, am I correct?"

"I'll leave that to your imagination," Cato says, pointing to the audience, who laughs and whoops.

Before he knows it, the buzzer goes off. "Oh no, we've run out of time," Caesar says with obvious sadness. The audience gasps with sadness too. "Well, before we move on, let's hear it for Cato Larek of District Two!"

With those words, the audience erupts with noise and cheering. Cato decides to bow to them, and that makes them go wild. I hear the Capitol audience yell words of luck and encouragement and I see Cato's huge grin plastered on his face. He pulls Caesar in to bow with him, and at first Caesar refuses but Cato insists. So they both bow, making the audience erupt even louder. Caesar and Cato share a manly hug and Cato walks offstage.

Well, he certainly made an impression.

.

Cato sits down next to me, and soon the girl from Three sits down next to him. Caesar and the girl from Four are talking about the unique fashion trends of the Capitol and how she loved them. Probably trying to kiss up. Smart move on her part. I decide to ask her one more time in the arena to ally.

None of the rest of the interviews really catch my attention, so Cato and I whisper to each other, commenting on each tribute as they walk onto the stage. Soon the boy from Eleven, Thresh, walks offstage and Katniss Everdeen is called up. I feel my face coil in loathing. I peer at Cato out of the corner of my eye and I see he is paying full attention now.

She gets boring right away. Her and Caesar are saying something about lamb stew, and soon Cato and I are whispering gain, making fun of her. She didn't have that much to her personality; she seemed shallow, and most of her questions were vaguely answered and Caesar would distract the audience with his commentary, helping her out. Then before I know it she giggles and twirls around in her dress, which appears to have fire on the ends of it. The audience goes wild, and I sense Cato going rigid with anger beside me. Really? Twirling and giggling in her dress? I can't even take her seriously anymore.

No, wait. I do have to take her seriously. Can't forget about that Eleven, can we?

Soon her district partner comes up, and he is apparently a baker's son, because he is comparing Glimmer to District One's light-colored bread, and then he does the same for a few other tributes. I am not paying attention too much, so when I look up at the stage and I see the boy and Caesar smelling each other, my face scrunches up. Weird. Then they are taking about a girl he likes back home when I see Katniss's face on the television. Wait, what?

I elbow Cato. "What happened?"

His face scrunches up in disgust. "You see how corny this guy is? Seriously. He just said he loved his district partner in front of the whole nation," he explains, shaking his head. My mouth gapes open in disbelief.

"Oh, that is a piece of bad luck," Caesar says, earning a few sounds of agreement from the audience. When the boy, Peeta, I learn, walks off the stage, the audience literally goes wild. And I thought Cato got a reaction out of them. I already hear people behind me saying things like "star-crossed lovers". I hope I don't barf.

.

Cato and I are awakened bright and early the next morning, and I can barely hold myself together. It's going to start today.

The Hunger Games.

We don't even get to eat breakfast. Zaria and Estelle practically throw us into our arena wear, and we are brought to the roof, where a hovercraft will pick us up and bring us to the long-awaited arena.

Before we get on, a Capitol woman inserts trackers into my arm and Cato's using a sharp needle. I climb up the ladder and clove climbs up after me. When we get to the top Cato helps me stand up and we sit in empty seats. The only other tributes here are Marvel and Glimmer. Glimmer was complaining because they confiscated the poisonous ring she told me about when we first met. She told them she didn't know about the poisonous spike under the gem. I laugh at that. We talk about our interviews and training scores until District Three and the rest come on.

It takes about a half-hour to get to the arena. I am brought to a Launch Room. There I eat breakfast, but I don't eat too much. I am too excited. I make a mental note to eat once the bloodbath is over.

I take a cool shower and brush my hair. I tie it in a ponytail and then Estelle braids it. Then I brush my teeth and pour water over my face. It's no use. I can't seem to calm down.

It is almost ten o'clock now. I hug Estelle goodbye and walk into the cylinder onto a metal plate. The plate slowly ascends and soon enough I am staring out into a grassy field, and then grass meets forest about a hundred feet away. I look to my right and I see Marvel, and to my left I see the girl from four, Leena. After Marvel is Katniss (blech) and three more people down I see Cato. We smile knowing smiles at each other. I nod at Marvel. I don't see Glimmer, maybe she is too far down for me to see.

Now we have sixty seconds left. I can barely hold myself together. I smile into the warm sun and try to relax.

Let the Games begin!

.

**Cato**

Clove smiles at me and motions to the Cornucopia. I nod and smile back. I turn to my right and spot Glimmer a few people down, near the boy from Twelve. She notions to me, as if to say, "Should I kill him?" I know what she's thinking. He could help us find Katniss, because there is no doubt she'll runs straight into the forest to find water. If she even survives the bloodbath.

I shake my head at Glimmer. She slowly gives me a subtle thumbs up. If she moves too quickly while still on her metal plate, the bombs will go off and shell be blown to pieces.

There are thirty seconds left. I look at the boy from Twelve, Loverboy we should call him, and he is shaking his head. Probably trying to figure out his strategy. All I know is this is going to be one hell of a Games this year. I can't wait.

Ten seconds.

9.

8.

I look at Clove one last time.

6.

5.

4.

I give the circle of tributes one last sweep, then look to the huge Cornucopia waiting for me.

3.

2.

1.

Then the gong rings.

And I run.

.

**Reviews and feedback please! The interviews took me foreverrrr to write. I kept writing and deleting and rewriting, so hopefully you guys like it now. Personally, I liked Cato's better. What did you think? Next chapter will be up soon. Can't wait to work on it. -Brittany**


	5. Bloodbath

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Personally, the last chapter I wrote was my best one so far, I think. Besides this one. Hopefully you guys think this chapter is a good follow-up! I literally reread parts of the Hunger Games for my next few chapters because of how many things I wanted to match exactly. Comments, reviews and feedback are appreciated. Thank you! **

**(Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Hunger Games**_** or its characters.)**

_**Chapter 5: Bloodbath**_

**Cato**

I dart forward as fast as I can. Adrenaline runs through my veins, making my body jump as I run. A girl runs into my path, and then she sees me and runs in the opposite direction. I change course and quickly catch up to her, sticking my foot out to trip her. She falls, I bend down and snap her neck, and she is dead. I hear three cannons go off, telling me two more people have died.

I let myself go. My mind no longer controls me now; my body does. Everything from sixteen years of Training back in District Two rushes back to me. Even in the first two years of my life without training, I watched as older children practiced, watched as they won their Games. I always wanted to be like them one day. Now I am.

I run to the center of the Cornucopia, where I see Clove beating a young boy. He dies, too. I pick up spears and throw at any tribute I see that isn't in our alliance. I see Ellas, the boy from Four, holding a spear and I immediately chase him down. I throw my spear and it hits him in the back of his head and he tumbles forward. I run forward, retrieve my spear as well as the one Ellas was holding, and run back to the Cornucopia, stabbing another boy in the chest on the way. With every death, my body gets energized. There is no better feeling than the thrill of the kill.

I see Glimmer in combat with the boy from Eight, and as she aims for him he ducks and attempts to knock her off her feet. But it doesn't work. Glimmer is too skilled. She easily dodges his attack and stabs him with a knife. She turns toward me and smiles. I smile back.

All around me, I see people fighting, falling to the ground, dying. I see my fellow Careers and I whoop loudly, running toward the center of the Cornucopia. This is what I have been waiting for.

.

**Clove**

The gong goes off, and I dash forward toward the huge metal structure that is the Cornucopia. I dart past the useless items that litter the outskirts and run deep inside to find deadly serrated knives.

I turn to look over my shoulder. "Cover me!" I say to Marvel, the closest Career to me. I pick up each knife and store them in my belt, and then I run back outside with Marvel. On the ground, I see another knife. I pick it up and throw at the girl from District Three. It would have hit her in the chest but she turned at the last minute and my weapon ledges itself deeply into her arm instead. She'll be dead in minutes from the bleeding if she doesn't have good sponsors, so I leave her be.

Then I stab an older boy in his forehead as I pass him and run to Glimmer, who is in a fierce battle with Thresh. But right when I am about to throw at him, I see two figures battling over bread behind them.

And one of them is the girl from Twelve. The Girl on Fire. Katniss.

I ditch Glimmer in a snap. She is too busy to notice. I take my knife intended for Thresh and throw at the boy fighting her, and it hits him in his back. He staggers forward and falls. Katniss looks up in shock, and I am delighted to see fear spread across her pale face. She runs toward the forest behind her and I chase her. I throw a knife at her back, a good throw I have to say, but at the last minute she hikes her backpack up to protect her head, which is where the knife ledges itself instead. I scowl in disappointment, but I let her run off. We'll find her eventually. It's not worth leaving Cato and the bloodbath. Especially with the plan that has just formed inside my head.

.

**Cato**

Inside the huge metal Cornucopia, I see tons and tons of food, weapons, and supply boxes. I pry the boxes open, one by one. Some of the things I find are iodine, warm bread, heat reflective sleeping bags and body suits, etc. Then I come to a big one and pry it open with my sword.

Inside, I find three thick body suits. It looks like they are supposed to serve as body armor. I take two out, one for me and one for Clove, and leave the third one for whoever takes it from District One.

I turn around and find a truly astonishing sight: Clove and Lover Boy from District Twelve, whom I can't remember the name of. I instantly take out my sword and jump on him, throwing us both to the ground. I hold the sword to his throat.

"Cato! Don't!" Clove says, sounding panicked.

I stop. Still holding the sword to the boy's neck, I give Clove a questioning look.

"He stays with us," she says, sounding confident. My eyes narrow in confusion, but if it is Clove's idea then I should trust her with it. She's smart. She must have something in mind for him. After all, he _did_ get an Eight in Training. It may be low for a Career, but it's also unbelievably high for anyone else.

I slowly get off him. He doesn't say anything, just stands up. "Thanks, Clove," he says to her.

"No problem," she says. "You are officially a Career," she mocks, and then she hands him two knives. Probably just ones she doesn't want.

Now that I've calmed down from the action of the bloodbath, I notice Lover Boy for the first time. He's got a huge cut on his arm, and he is placing almost all his weight on his left leg. Which means his right one must be injured. Someone must have beaten him up, too, because the bruises on his face are prominent.

"I'll go around and collect all the weapons," Lover Boy says.

I nod. "Clove and I will gather all the food. Put the weapons over here, and the food pile will go next to it," I demand.

"Wait," Clove says. "We can't just leave them in piles! What happens when we leave to hunt? Anyone nearby can just walk in and take whatever they want." She pauses. "That means we have to split up our group."

"Lover Boy can handle watch duty," I say.

"No," she says sharply. "He stays with us."

Her sharpness takes me off guard. I cannot figure out why Clove wants the boy from Twelve so much. What use can he be? We could just kill him already, and then all we'd have one less tribute to hunt!

Twelve. Just the name of the district brings his district partner to my mind. The girl with the Eleven.

All of a sudden I see Clove's motives. Now I know why she wants him; he's our best chance of finding the girl with the Eleven. Katniss.

Once again, Clove has proven to me how smart and valuable a Career she is. I give her a knowing smile when Lover Boy is not looking. Then the three of us get to work. Marvel is scavenging any other useful items from the dead bodies and Glimmer is going through the items that litter the entrance to the Cornucopia before we all walk to the huge lake nearby; there we wait for the hovercraft to collect the bodies, and then we quickly resume work. But then I see one of the bodies has not been collected. I run forward with my spear, and Clove gets out two knives and runs beside me.

We get to the figure, the boy from District Three. He is crying out, begging for us not to kill him, but Clove ignores him and moves to stab him. But sure enough, right before her knife hits his throat, he says something.

"I can keep your food safe," he gets out in a ragged breath.

This stops Clove completely. Only for a split second, though. She jumps on him and holds the point of her knife to the boy's throat. "How?" she questions, the word coming out quick and sharp.

"Around every metal plate," he says, "there are buried bombs. They-"

"Yeah, yeah, they blow up the tributes if they leave ahead of time," Clove interrupts impatiently. "So what?"

"I know how to disarm them."

"Why would we need-" Clove cuts herself off. She knows.

"The food," I say. Then I say louder, "We need him, Clove."

She looks at the boy skeptically. "You're telling me you can dig them up, move them around the supply piles, reactivate them, and cover it up, but keep them so we can still access the supplies without getting blown to bits ourselves?" she says, raising her eyebrows sarcastically.

"Yes," the boy chokes.

"What's the harm?" I tell Clove. "The worst that can happen is he can die trying," I say persuasively.

She looks at the boy for a second, and she finally gives in. "Fine. But make sure all the bombs that protect each supply pile can't activate each other, or all our stuff will be gone if one of the bombs is provoked," she says intelligently. She shoves her knife to his neck for emphasis. "Got it?" she says in a brutal voice. He nods and she jumps off him.

Clove and I walk over to Marvel, Glimmer, and the boy from Twelve. "We found a way to protect the food," I say. I nod over to the boy from Three and Glimmer nods, but Marvel doesn't understand. Clove explains the plan to him, and that is when it occurs to me that Marvel isn't very smart.

While the boy from Three begins the tiring process of moving the bombs, Clove, Marvel, Glimmer and I load up on food and weapons for our hunt. Clove and I are deep inside the Cornucopia and I see her scavenging any kind of knife she can find, and each one she finds she arranges on the inside of her jacket. I pick up spears and attach them to the side of my backpack with a rope I find near the edge of the Cornucopia, giving me easy access to them if necessary. Clove gives me a few good knives, and she points out a mighty sword to me under a pile of clothes. I take the sword and stick it through my belt.

I take advantage of our alone time. I dig into my backpack and pull out the two body suits I saved. "These are for us," I say. "There are only three, so don't tell One. I left the last one where I found it so if _they_ find it they'll think there was only one to begin with," I continue. She nods and we strip down to our underwear, not looking at each other of course, slide into our body suits, and then put our arena clothes back on again. Just in time, I might add, because Marvel comes in not two seconds after Clove zips up her jacket.

"Let's go," he says. The three of us walk outside. Marvel is loading food into his backpack as well as Glimmer's when he stops and looks at us.

"I have it all sorted out," he begins. "You and Clove will carry the weapons, and Glimmer and I will carry the food. That way we have a lot of both."

Clove is already shaking her head. "No," she says. Marvel looks at her quizzically and I elaborate. "What if we have to split up? Then one group will have no food and the other no weapons. We should all carry a little of both in our backpacks, just in case."

"And don't forget Lover Boy," Clove cuts in.

The boy from Twelve walks up to us, his backpack already filled with food. I see Clove's knives under his belt. "Are we ready?" he says.

Glimmer and Marvel refill their backpacks based on what I said. Then we set out. I also make sure to tell the boy from Three that if he leaves, we will hunt him down mercilessly and kill him on the spot. Then we set out into the forest.

.

**Clove**

It isn't long until we come across the girl from Four, who is attempting to track someone through the forest. Cato runs to kill her, but I stop him. I remember how smart she was during Training and I remember her interview; I want to ally with her. She finally agrees to be a Career. Her name is Leena.

After hours of trekking through the trees, we stop to rest for a few minutes. We all drink from our water canteens. It is night now. Any minute the faces of dead tributes will show up in the night sky.

"So who's dead?" Glimmer says. "I killed the boy from Eight."

"I killed the girl from Three, and the boys from Four, Seven, and Nine," Cato recites.

"I got the girl from Seven, and someone else I don't know," Marvel says. "What about you?" he asks Leena.

"I grabbed some apples and a knife, and then I ran for it," she says. When we make faces, she adds, "Well, I didn't _run._ I just hid behind the Cornucopia until everyone died," she elaborates. Right. Careers _never_ run from the Cornucopia.

"Look, the anthem's playing," I say, pointing to the sky. Sure enough, the Panem seal shows up, followed by photos of the girl from Three, the boys from Four, Five, and Six, both from Seven, the boy from Eight, both from Nine, and the girl from Ten. That means Thresh and the Girl on Fire are still alive.

I stabbed that girl from Six in the arm," I say.

"Guess loss of blood got to her, then," Cato says, and we all laugh. The seal reappears and the sky goes dark. We decide to set out and we begin walking again.

.

We are walking only for a few minutes when I see some smoke high in the sky to my left. I laugh because that was the easiest hunt in the world. "Look!" I yell, excitement filling my voice. Everyone looks, and Glimmer and Cato whoop with energy. We all run straight for the fire. I think for a second that we should split up and surround the tribute so they can't escape, but I figure if a tribute is stupid enough to build a fire when they are being hunted by Careers then they can't be that hard of a catch.

It turns out to be the girl from Eight. She panics and starts to cry when we find her, and I laugh in disgust.

"Please, please don't," she pleads, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Please don't kill me!" We ignore her and Cato slits her throat, not hesitating, blood spurting from the girl's fresh wound. She falls to the ground, and we all laugh at her. "Good job, Cato," Glimmer says sweetly. I feel a flicker of annoyance at her voice. "Nice one," I tell him louder, and Cato and I exchange high fives. We whoop and laugh loudly, warning any others nearby that we just killed someone and aren't afraid to kill anyone else. "Twelve down, Eleven to go!" Glimmer calls out with bubbling energy, and we all hoot in agreement, our voices echoing around us.

"She doesn't even have anything good!" Cato says, rummaging through her small, raggedy bag.

"What makes you think she'll have anything good if she was dumb enough to build that fire?" I point out.

"Good point," Cato replies, and he scoffs in disbelief of how easy she was to find.

"Let's move on," Leena says.

Cato agrees. "Better clear out so they can get the body before it starts stinking," he says. Lover Boy and I murmur in agreement.

"Shouldn't we have heard a cannon by now?" Leena questions after we have walked a little.

"I'd say yes," I respond. "Nothing to prevent them from going in immediately," I add, thinking of the hovercraft.

Marvel stops walking. "Unless she isn't dead."

"She's dead," Cato says firmly. "I struck her myself."

"Then where's the cannon?" Marvel challenges.

"Someone should go back, make sure the job's done!" Glimmer says loudly, trying to talk over them.

"Yeah, so we don't have to track her down twice," Marvel agrees.

"I said she's dead!" Cato yells in Marvel's face.

Lover Boy finally inputs something into the argument. "We're wasting time! I'll go finish her, and let's move on!" he says impatiently.

"Go on, Lover Boy," Cato says, mocking him. "See for yourself." With that, District Twelve's boy tribute turns on his heel and heads back toward the campfire and the supposedly dead tribute girl.

"Why don't we just kill him now and get it over with?" Marvel asks impatiently in a half whisper.

Glimmer clicks her tongue and says, "Let him tag along. What's the harm?" She smiles a knowing smile. "_And _he's handy with that knife."

"Besides, he's our best chance of finding _her_," Cato inputs. He is thinking the same thoughts as I am.

"Why?" Marvel questions once again. "Do you think she bought into that sappy romance stuff?"

"She might have," I suggest. Then I shrug. "Seemed pretty simpleminded to me. Every time I see her spinning around in that dress, I want to puke." I imitate throwing up and Cato agrees, laughing in disgust.

"Wish we knew how she got that Eleven," Leena says quietly.

"Bet you Lover Boy knows," I say with a smirk, raising one eyebrow.

We all fall silent because the boy we were talking about returns. "Was she dead?" Cato questions loudly.

"No," the boy says, "But she is now." Then we wear a cannon fire in the distance, proving his statement. "Ready to move on?"

**Cato**

We decide to keep going through the night, since this is the time when most tributes are asleep or unaware of their surroundings. Every now and then, I take sips of water, careful not to drink too much. The more we conserve, the longer we can survive hunting our competitors without having to retreat back to the Cornucopia for supplies. I had to tell Marvel this because he was gulping down his water down like there was no tomorrow.

"I'm bored," Marvel says.

"I bet you something will happen today," Glimmer says.

"Yeah, if nothing happens today we'll all be driven together by tonight at least," Leena says.

"I agree with you," I say to Marvel. "This is getting boring."

Clove laughs. "Hey, Gamemakers!" she calls to the sky. "We're ready whenever you are!" This gets a laugh out of all of us.

When nothing happens, she frowns in mock disappointment. "Something will happen, though," she says to me. "I'm sure of it!"

We are walking for a long time now. I notice Clove has slowed down so she is in the back of the group. Glimmer, Leena and Marvel are busy pretending to kill each other for them to notice that I fall back so I am in step with Clove.

"Having fun?" I say.

She elbows me. "Are you?"

I shrug. "Could be better."

"You know, we'll have to split up from them sometime," I say, looking at Marvel fake stabbing Leena with his spear, making Glimmer laugh loudly.

"Not now though," I say. "There's still ten of us left. No one died yesterday except the girl from Eight, so after the Gamemakers do something to bring us together, we'll see how many of us are still alive. How about that?" I say.

She nods. "And when do _we_ split up?" I can tell she means the two of us.

Now I have nothing to say. I won't go killing her in her sleep or anything. More like I will let someone else kill her off.

But at the same time, I don't want someone to kill her off. I don't want her to die at all. I know by now I will definitely not be pointing my sword at her. She's my friend. Marvel and Leena, I can kill off in a second, but the moment I touch either of them, Glimmer will know to turn on us, too.

I hope the Gamemakers aren't filming us now. They probably aren't, but still. What I am about to say is private and not for the cameras. "I won't kill you," I say quietly.

When she doesn't say anything, I repeat myself. "I won't kill you. I can promise you that."

"Why would you say that?" Clove says slowly.

I did not expect this. Or, more like, I didn't think about how she would react to my words. "I can't kill you. I mean, at first, I didn't really think about it, I just figured someone else would, but now…" I look at her. "I don't want you to die."

"Well, I won't die then."

That means I have to die. Which I won't. I don't even know what I am thinking anymore.

.

"So, Peeta," Glimmer says, "What do you know about the girl? Your district partner?"

"She wouldn't talk to me much," he says, but I can't tell if he is lying. He might be, which would support the whole publically-declare-your-love thing. Or he may be telling the truth, in which case the publically-declare-your-love thing is an act to get more sponsors. If the latter is true, this boy may be smarter than I think.

"But she does know her survival skills," he adds when he seems to sense we are getting suspicious. I know he knows we are only keeping him alive because we need him to find his district partner. "She's intelligent."

"Knowing her, where do you think she'd hide?" Clove asks curiously.

He looks up. "In trees," he says. "She can climb."

"Any particular weapons she prefers?" Leena says. "Though I think it's unlikely, seeing as you guys are from poor old Twelve," she laughs.

Lover Boy ignores this jab. "I don't know," he says reluctantly. "She asked to train separately from me."

"But you guys were practically glued to each other during Training," Clove says skeptically. "You have to know _something_."

The boy only shrugs. "Nope. That was a public act only. She didn't want me to know any of her talents, if she has any, so she would just tie stupid knots and stuff," he finishes.

"Maybe there really is nothing special about her," I conclude. "Maybe it is all just a big act." But I know that is not true.

"No," Clove reminds me, "She still got that Eleven."

Oh," I say, annoyed we are not coming close to finding an answer to this girl's Training Score. "Right."

Glimmer wants to eat. She takes out her backpack and unloads most of her food and we all share it.

Now, during the silence, is when I notice our surroundings. It is daytime now. There is smoke in the air behind us, but too much for it to be from one or two fires. I turn around to watch it.

The other Careers notice me turn and they do the same. I cannot figure out what it is. We travel toward it for a while, and soon it becomes apparent that the smoke is coming from a huge wall of fire. Finally, some action.

.

**Clove**

"Run!" I yell, warning the others. We all run back the way we came, but the fire is already too close; we are all coughing and gagging and most of us have the good sense to put our shirts over our mouths. Leena trips over a tree root, and Glimmer doubles back to help her. Cato, Marvel and I run for our lives.

I hear a hiss to my left and before I know it Marvel shoves me out of the way, into Cato. Cato catches me and we fall backward, me landing on the dirt next to him. Marvel is behind what is a huge fireball burning into the ground. I stare at it until I sense Cato jump up and he says, "Let's go!"

I scramble up from the ground and run.

"Where's Leena and Glimmer?" Marvel shouts over the roar of the fire. He coughs because he is inhaling too much smoke.

"Cover your mouth!" I say, and put the neck of my shirt over my mouth and nose. When I run, I look back and Leena and Glimmer are nowhere to be seen. I shrug and keep running. Two less people to kill, right?

Apparently Cato thinks the same. Marvel turns back, which I know Glimmer would never do for him, and he calls out for her. Cato and I leave him.

We run for a while, and I realize the fire is getting father and farther behind us. The smoke, however, is what's slowing us down. I can barely breathe; the smoke is so thick I cannot see anything past fifty feet ahead of me.

Cato, Lover Boy and I stop to rest. We tumble to the ground, on our hands and knees, coughing and gagging. We stay like that for about ten minutes, and then we hear footsteps behind us. Glimmer, Marvel, and Leena.

"Let's keep moving!" coughs Leena, and Glimmer yells in agreement. Glimmer helps me up and we run once more.

I run and run and run. Little by little I can see farther and farther ahead of me, and little by little it is easier for me to breathe. Glimmer laughs, which turns into a cough.

"We survived!" Marvel yells in mock-relief.

I whoop and take a huge gulp of water. Cato lost his bottle running from the fire, so I let him have a few sips out of mine. We keep walking until we hear a splash ahead of us.

I stop in my tracks. Jackpot. My guess is another tribute. A grin creeps onto my face as Glimmer bursts through the trees. We follow to see a clearing with a small pool of water. At the other side of the pool, I see someone that makes my heart thump loud and hard with pure excitement and adrenaline.

The girl from District twelve. Katniss.

.

**I especially liked writing this chapter. I enjoyed writing the scene where the Careers are arguing about killing the girl from Eight the most. I had to match everything they said in the book to everything I wrote, which was a challenge. Next chapter will be up soon. Please review! I don't have a lot of feedback so far, and I'd really like it if more people reviewed my story. Thanks! -Brittany**


	6. Feel the Sting

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Sorry it took me a little longer to update this chapter. Like the last chapter, I had to go over the Hunger Games book several times to get the events and dead tributes right. **

**Comments, reviews and feedback are appreciated. Thank you!**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Hunger Games**_** or its characters.)**

_**Chapter 6: Feel the Sting**_

**Cato**

Thegirl across the pond jumps up in panic and stumbles into the woods behind her. We all laugh and whoop, splashing across the shallow pond and we break into a sprint to go after her. Clove yells and Marvel yells back, and I laugh because I feel so at home, so at ease. This is what I call fun.

Adrenaline fills my veins. I let myself be taken over by the thrill of the hunt, chasing the girl in the braid in front of me. My body jumps with restlessness as I run, and it only occurs to me now how badly I want to kill this girl on fire.

Katniss stops running and practically leaps up a tall tree. We all slow down when we get there and then we look up, laughing and whooping and cheering. We found her. We finally found her. And she's trapped in a tree. What an idiot.

The girl finally stops climbing and peers down at us from her branch. She plasters a smile on her face.

"How's everything with you?" the girl asks us.

I raise my eyebrows, but I quickly hide my surprise. I play along. "Well enough," I shrug. "And yourself?"

"It's been a bit warm for my taste," she says, humoring me. She waves me over. "Why don't you come on up?" she says, still smiling.

I smirk. I smell a challenge. "Think I will," I say.

"Here," Glimmer says from behind me, "Take this, Cato." She hands me her sleek silver bow she scavenged from the Cornucopia, but I just wave her away. I'm not a shooter. "No, I'll do better with my sword."

I run up to the tree and jump, grabbing onto the thick branches. Once I get up about ten feet, Katniss resumes climbing. The farther I go up, the thinner the branches get. I vaguely hear "Kill her, Cato!" from Clove down below, her voice longing for spilt blood. Kill her, I will.

I lose myself in the chase, or more rather climb, and before I notice it I am too heavy for these thin, lean branches to hold me and the branch my foot is resting on snaps. I grunt in surprise and quickly grab onto the branch under it, attempting to steady my feet against the rough tree bark. It doesn't work. I cuss, losing my grip and falling straight down to the hard ground, landing on my back. I wince, the pain jolting down my spine, temporarily paralyzing me. I look up to see the girl up even higher up, maybe almost a hundred feet off the ground. I jump up, cursing my head off and I vaguely feel Clove's hand on my arm trying to calm me down.

"Glimmer, try and shoot her!" Marvel suggests.

She nods and lifts her bow, loading it with an arrow. I yell out in anger, and her arrow flies and flies…and hits the trunk of the tree twenty feet below the branch Katniss is perched on. Clove exhales in exasperation. I shake my head in annoyance as well as impatience as Glimmer shoots again and this time the silver arrow hits the trunk next to where Katniss is sitting. The girl grabs the arrow and waves it in the air, a huge smug smirk on her face, one I'd kill to wipe off.

My hands go up in disbelief, and Glimmer shoots me a look.

"Glimmer!" Clove snaps in anger. "Don't waste the arrows! If you can't shoot, say so!"

Glimmer turns on her with a snarl. "Oh, like you could do any better!"

"Actually, she can! I've seen her in training!" Marvel blurts in.

Glimmer abruptly turns on Marvel. "Stay out of this," she practically roars.

I growl in Glimmer's face. "Who are you to tell us to stay out of this?" I say too loudly, indignant that she thinks she can tell us what to do.

"It doesn't matter who's the better shooter! We have to get up that tree!" Leena practically shouts.

"Oh yeah, and how are we going to do that?" I say sarcastically.

"I'll climb!" Clove says. "I'm the lightest one here-"

"But _I_ want to kill her!" Leena interrupts.

"Clove turns on her with a sharp growl. "You were _just_ as happy to let Cato kill her not two minutes ago!"

"We should just leave so she can come down, and then hunt her when she's on the ground!" Glimmer says stupidly.

"Yeah, for what? To have her climb a damn tree again?" Clove yells with impatience, narrowing her eyes at the blond.

"Oh, let her stay up there," Lover Boy says over all of us. "It's not like she's going anywhere! We'll deal with her in the morning."

"I agree with Lover Boy," I say. Never thought I'd say that, but what do you know? "But we stay directly under this tree so we don't miss her if she tries to escape," I add, glancing upward. I can barely see her silhouette through the branches against the already darkening sky.

I can't believe this. To think that we, trained bloodthirsty Careers, are being humiliated by some nobody from the most pathetic district in the entire country! The nerve! Just imagine the laughter coming from the people in the Capitol, the head shakes of disappointment from our neighbors and friends back home. In my head, I picture my mother, scowling in disappointment at my actions. Rage fills me and I slam my backpack down on the ground, seething in uncontrollable anger.

Clove grabs my arm to keep me still, and she is saying something to me but I am not paying attention. Marvel is talking too, but his words are a blur. I feel the ground shaking. No, wait. I'm shaking.

"Cato," Clove warns. "Cato, calm down. Getting mad like this isn't going to help," she snaps. But I don't take her seriously because I can tell she is fuming, too. She just hides it better than I do.

"You're only giving Katniss more satisfaction," Marvel adds. "Quit it."

Since it is getting dark, Marvel and Clove take out torches from their backpacks. I take out the matches Glimmer put in my own backpack and I light their torches so we can see. They stick the torches in the ground so they don't have to hold them.

There are no deaths today. Which means the people in the Capitol are getting impatient. Restless. I know blood will be spilled tomorrow.

.

**Clove**

"Tomorrow, we don't leave until that girl is dead," Glimmer states.

"Does she have any allies?" Marvel questions.

Leena shrugs. "No idea. If she does, and we have to split up, we should make a plan," she suggests.

The five of us look at her suspiciously. "Split up? You're pretty hide-and-run for a Career," says Cato doubtfully.

Leena shrugs. "I was never the fighting type," she explains.

I waggle my brows at Cato. She unknowingly just admitted her weakness to us. She'll be an easy kill. The only reason she's still alive is probably because I wanted her in the Career alliance. She's proved herself useful so far, she's definitely smarter than Marvel and Glimmer, but…still. Split up? Not the Career style. _At_ _all._

"We should still have a plan," Leena says stubbornly.

"Tell you what," Lover Boy says after no one says anything. "If something happens, but I highly doubt it," he gives Leena a look, "I'll go after her. I'm the only one here who has even the slightest idea of where she might go, how she might hide."

I'm satisfied with the idea. After all, that was the whole reason I saved him instead of killing him back during the bloodbath, right? But at the same time, I find a little seed of suspicion sprouting in the back of my mind.

Apparently, Marvel does too. He tilts his head up in disbelief and his eyebrows narrow in suspicion. "How do we know you won't help her? After all, you _are _from the same district. I'm guessing you two knew each other back in Twelve, seeing as your district is so small."

"What do I look like to you?" he says, sounding astonished that we would ever ask such a question. "I'm a Career, am I not?"

Technically, he was. But only because we need him to find her. He was easily disposable if it came down to it.

I shrug in my indifference. Honestly, I couldn't care less. If he teams up with her, there's a better challenge to us. Either way, both tributes from District Twelve will end up dead.

Cato disagrees. "I don't trust you," he says skeptically.

Lover Boy shrugs.

"Just let him go, Cato," I say. "I doubt we'll need to split up anyway. That girl on fire doesn't seem like the allying type."

Cato gives me a doubtful look, but in the end he sighs. "Fine," he says, clearly upset that we are putting our trust in this boy from District Twelve.

I can't wait for tomorrow.

.

**Cato**

All I can think of is the girl up in the tree. I look up just in time to see a silver shape floating down toward the girl, barely visible against the night sky. So, she has sponsors. We haven't gotten anything from our sponsors yet. Probably because we don't need anything. Still, the thought that this girl thinks she actually has a chance at winning gets me all winded up all over again. I try not to think about it.

Instead, I look over at Clove, the shadows of the flames dancing on her face as she laughs with Marvel. I think about how I will have to kill her soon. We still have time, seeing as there are still eleven of us left, but I find myself being taken over by that worry again. Worry I've never felt before. _She doesn't have to die,_ I think. But at the same time I know she does.

As I begin to fall asleep I find myself dreaming that both Clove and I win. I dream that we both go back home to District Two, and we greet the smiles and words of congratulations and pride we get from our friends, our families, even from complete strangers. Clove hugs me and I hug her back. Ronan's there, too, saying how great we were in the arena. How we killed the girl on fire. I dream of how Clove and I will join the generations and generations of past victors in the Victor's Village.

_What are you thinking? There's only one victor! She can't win, and you know it._

Right. One victor.

_And it's going to be me._

The last thing I register in my mind is how my heart sinks at my previous thought, and then I sink farther into unconsciousness.

.

**Clove**

All around me, I see Cato. Well, a lot of Catos. They all look exactly alike. They all have weapons. And they are all advancing on me.

I try to run; I can take one Cato, but twenty Catos? I try and try to move, but I am not budging from the spot on which I am standing. I am panicking; I can't move, not an inch.

Then the Cato clones start running away, and bright green birds with sharp beaks start to surround me, pecking at my face and scratching my skin. I wave my arms around, trying to wave them off, but it's no use. Some weird green stuff starts to ooze from my scratches, and my wounds start to sting with pain.

And then I open my eyes to mayhem.

There are little wasps everywhere, flying all around me and the other Careers. I scramble up with a scream and then I look closer at the tiny bugs to see the bright yellow hides that can only belong to tracker jackers.

I drop everything and run, without thinking. I wave my arms to swat away the little wasps all the while, but I'm too late. I feel little pinches and stinging sensations all over my body where they have already stung me. The pain is paralyzing, slowing me down, and I stumble and falter many times as I run. "To the lake," A voice yells during the chaos. Cato's. I notice his voice sounds unusually loud and garbled. "To the lake!"

I glance behind me to see Cato and Marvel catching up with me. Glimmer, Lover Boy and Leena are nowhere in sight. We run and run and run, and I hope we can get to the lake on time. We aren't very far from it. We'll have to completely submerge ourselves to get rid of the remaining tracker jackers.

I can already feel the deadly venom making its way through my veins. I have enough sense to pull out the stingers from my skin, and I turn my head to see the two boys already doing the same. The pain subsides a tiny bit when I pull the dreadful stingers out, but my body still feels as if it's on fire and I feel my vision is still playing tricks on me. I don't know what's real anymore. I already see those same green birds from earlier flying around me. I remember all the Cato clones and I start to doubt if even the Cato running beside me is real.

We finally get back to the Cornucopia meadow. We all dash toward the massive body of water behind it, past the boy from Three and the supply piles and practically jump in, making the cool water splash everywhere. I hold my breath and duck, staying under for as long as I can. I vaguely see Cato through the murky water.

After a few minutes, I cannot hold my breath any longer. I emerge, wringing out any water from my hair. The tracker jackers are gone, so I signal for the two boys to come up.

"What the hell was that about?" Cato explodes, shaking any leftover water from his blond head.

"Don't know, but Glimmer and Leena are done for," Marvel says. "When we left, Glimmer was practically covered head to toe in those things and Leena was stumbling around in circles."

Why didn't they run? My guess is that Leena had already been stung too many times to think straight and Glimmer was probably preoccupied with gathering her supplies. Stupid. Maybe Marvel is the smarter one of the duo after all.

"Wait a minute," Marvel says. "Where's Lover Boy?"

"I got him with my sword before we ran off," Cato says proudly.

"Yeah, don't worry about him," I say.

"Where'd you cut him?" Marvel questions.

"His upper thigh. He'll bleed to death by tonight," Cato responds.

Marvel and I nod. We don't need to think about him anymore, then.

"Did you pull all of the stingers out?" I say, wanting to double-check.

"Yeah," Marvel nods.

Cato reaches up to the back of his neck and yanks out another stinger. "Now I did," he says, the annoyance making itself clear in his voice.

Marvel looks up into the sky and says, "Medicine." No luck. Maybe we can scavenge something useful from the supply piles. I signal to Cato and we both head over, me pulling out one last stinger I missed along the way.

"Leena's probably dead," Cato says.

I shrug. Glimmer was definitely gone. "I didn't hear any cannons, but then again we were probably too busy to notice."

Cato raises his eyebrows, a grin creeping across his face. "Two less people to kill, right?"

I nod and laugh. I was never able to admit this before, but now that Glimmer is dead I realize how much she liked Cato. And how much I hated her for that. For a brief moment, I wonder if Cato ever liked her, too. Hopefully not. Anyway, I find myself reveling in her death more than necessary when we reach the supply piles.

"We need to restock on food," Cato states. I nod and we both watch the boy from Three, Nero, as he demonstrates where to step to avoid the buried bombs. While we do that, I see Marvel grab three brand new backpacks for us; we lost our original ones during the mayhem of the tracker jacker attack.

I step forward. "Don't mess up," Cato says, mocking me.

"Never," I reply.

I walk forward and stick out my right foot, only daring to step on my toes. Right, diagonal, two steps forward, one to the right, and so on. Not too hard. But one false step and I'm dead. I grab these for each backpack: a bag of apples, a box of berries, a bag of meat strips and some dried fruit. One by one, I toss the packages back to Cato and Marvel, who just joins us. They stuff the food into each of the three backpacks, and then I make my way over to the weapons pile. I grab some spears for Marvel, more knives for me, and a brand new sword for Cato. I toss those over.

"Before you come back, get me some of those nets on that side of the pile," Marvel says, pointing.

My eyes furrow in confusion. "You use nets?"

"I know how to make traps with them," he replies. I look at Cato for approval, but he just shrugs, so I grab seven nets and toss those over to him. Then I jump my way back across the fragile ground.

After we are all packed and Marvel went to refill water bottles at the lake, I glance at Cato.

"Should we give Marvel that body suit?"

Cato hesitates, and then shakes his head. "That'll only make it harder for us to kill him off," he says.

Oh, yeah. Didn't think about that.

.

**Cato**

Marvel comes up to us. "No medicine," he says simply, having just searched the supply piles for any kind of tracker jacker venom antidote.

"Hopefully we have sponsors, because that stuff's starting to mess with my head," Clove whines.

"You guys got stung by tracker jackers?" Nero asks, eyebrows raised.

Clove turns around to face Nero. "Why so surprised?" she asks, her eyebrows narrowing in accusation.

Nero shrugs. "No reason," he says. "Just thought you guys would be smarter than that, running into tracker jackers. Didn't you even check around you to make sure there were no nests or anything?" Nero asks, shaking his head.

I've had enough. He needs to know he can't talk to us like that. I jump on him, my sword already at his throat. "Watch your mouth," I snarl viciously.

"If there were any nests nearby, we would've seen!" Clove spits indignantly, narrowing her brown eyes.

Nero raises his eyebrows again, ignoring my sword. "Bet you didn't look up into the trees-"

My sword pushing harder on his skin cuts him off. I notice a thick sheen of sweat shines on the boy's forehead.

"Watch your step, Nero, or I'll have no problem slitting your throat. _Or_," I say, taking a dramatic pause, then smirking for added effect, "I'll just let Clove do it herself. She's very creative with her knives," I spit, then shove him onto the ground and stash my sword in my belt. Nero rubs his neck with an utterly shocked look on his face. I turn away from him and toward the other Careers.

"Ready to go?" Clove asks with a grin.

I nod and the three of us set out, leaving Nero and his supply piles behind us.

.

**Okay, so this took me SUPER long to write. Hope you all enjoy. I know it's a sucky ending, but next chapter will be filled with action. R&R Please! -Brit**


	7. Three Fires

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Sorry it took me a little longer to update this chapter. Like the last chapter, I had to go over the Hunger Games book several times to get the events and dead tributes right. (Warning: Minor swearing.)**

**Comments, reviews and feedback are appreciated. Thank you!**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own _The Hunger Games_ or its characters.)**

~*~*~X~*~*~

_**Chapter 7: Three Fires**_

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

Right as we are walking toward the forest, I hear buzzing sounds. I automatically think of the tracker jackers, and I whirl around.

When we went to submerge ourselves in the lake, we didn't fend off all the tracker jackers. There's a small group of them bothering Nero, and he's trying to swat them away. I can tell he's already been stung too many times, though; his movements are slower, less calculated. As if he is forcing his arms to move. His eyes never fully focus on one object; he's already hallucinating.

Marvel, Clove and I find ourselves walking a lot quicker than before, desperate to get away from the deadly wasps.

When we walk past the edge of the meadow, I look behind us, over to the huge drop near the lake.

"What?" Clove says, noticing me looking back.

I point with my chin. "Think he's ever gonna come out?" I ask, squinting my eyes against the setting sun.

Clove shrugs. "He'll have too, soon enough. There's not many of us left."

I frown. "Do me a favor and call me if he attacks you."

"I can take him by myself," Clove says defensively.

"I'm sure you can, but still. He's bigger and stronger than you. If he's close enough to you, you'll be at the disadvantage if you don't run," I explain. She'd better not think she can get away with attacking him by herself.

She only rolls her eyes. "I'm not _helpless,_ Cato," she says, and I see annoyance in her expression.

"You will be if he gets his hands on you."

"He won't get his hands on me."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

I look at her for a long moment, but I eventually give in. "Fine," I snap. "But call me anyway. I'll be your backup if you need it."

"Fine."

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

When Cato and I were talking neither of us noticed we stopped walking altogether. We both turn, startled, when Marvel calls to us fifty feet away. "Let's go!" he says, beckoning with his hands.

Cato and I jog toward Marvel. "I set my traps," he says. He gestures to the forest around us. "See if you can find the closest one," he says proudly.

I raise my eyebrows at Cato and he only shrugs. We both go looking, walking anywhere within a twenty-foot radius, looking for the nets.

I look all around me, examining every tree, every patch of dirt. Every plant. Every now and then I test the ground in front of me with long stick, hoping to trigger the trap before I can get caught in it myself. In the corner of my eye, I see Marvel isn't able to keep the huge smile off is face.

I am walking when I see the slightest change in the dirt color in front of me. I smirk. The net. A clever way to trap an unsuspecting tribute. You'd have to be smart with a really good eye to see the trap. And yes, I'm smart and have a really good eye, thank you very much.

Cato's smart and all as well, but he isn't really paying attention. So when he walks straight toward the trap I yell, "No!" at the last minute. Too late. He steps one foot onto the darker patch of soil and the net instantly wraps itself around his body, pulling Cato straight up into the tree above us. Cato is swearing his head off and I fall to the ground, rolling with so much laughter my stomach begins to hurt.

"Damnit!" Cato yells with madness echoing in his voice. Just looking at him sets me off again. He's in what looks like a super uncomfortable position in the net, almost upside down with one of his legs sprawled out a hole in the net. Marvel comes over laughing, and he yanks the rope to the net down, causing the net to fall to the ground with no warning. Cato hits the ground howling in pain, and that only makes Marvel and me laugh more.

"Asshole," he spits at Marvel, but Marvel is laughing too much to take him seriously.

After Cato calms down, Marvel resets his net, placing the rope back where it was after reburying the net in the ground so the victim can't see it. These nets will work. I can tell.

I guess Marvel is pretty useful after all.

~*~*~X~*~*~

We really need an antidote to the venom. And fast.

Marvel's already throwing up. Cato's on and off, having fits that make him yell at no one. Then Marvel or I will grab his arm, making him jerk back to reality. As for me? All I see are those damned birds, the bright green ones that were "attacking" me earlier. I see bright colors and my vision sometimes gets fuzzy. I never know what's real and what's not until Cato shakes me by my shoulders, waking me up. I even threw up once.

But we're not letting any of that stop us from winning the Games. So now here we are out in the forest, looking for tributes, occasionally stopping when one of us is having a fit.

Fortunately, Marvel knows a little bit about tracking. Probably learned how to track the same time he learned how to trap people with his nets. We're on someone's trail, and we've been following it the whole night.

Right after Marvel throws up again, I see movement through the trees. "Over there!" Cato yells as Marvel slowly gets to his feet.

I look in the direction Cato's pointing. Sure enough, I laugh cheerfully, all effects of the venom subdued, and I dash forward without hesitation. Cato and Marvel are right on my heels.

The figure in front of us runs, and by the way he's running I can tell the person has a bad limp. I think back to earlier parts in the Games, which helps me to remember who this person is.

"It's the boy from Ten!" I call over my shoulder. Cato yells some intimidating words at the boy, attempting to scare him.

Scare him, he did. The boy ran even faster, and I only think to myself, _It's a miracle he can still run on that leg._

Of course, the chase doesn't last too long. I am whooping with excitement as the boy noticeably slows down. He's getting tired.

We, being Careers, are only warming up.

I run faster than before. Cato and Marvel keep up with me, and soon the boy falls, having tripped over a tree root. We are upon him in an instant, Cato taking out his sword. The boy barely manages to take out a puny, pathetic looking knife when Cato stabs his sword into the boy's stomach, making a huge red stain on his jacket. The boy gasps with pain, whimpering. I take out my knife, crouch down next to him, and trace the outline of his face with my knife, not afraid to really dig into his skin. Then Cato yanks out his sword out of the boy's gaping stomach and stabs the boy again in his heart. His head rolls back. A cannon sounds a few moments later, confirming he is dead.

"Nine to go," Marvel says with a grin. I laugh and with that, we set on after scavenging what we can from the boy's supplies.

It is late morning now, birds chirping high up in the trees, the strong sun shining on our faces. I notice a pair of mockingjays humming some kind of four note tune as they fly through the trees. The tune is catchy, and I end up humming it for the next five minutes.

And then I throw up again.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

Clove's fits are getting worse.

Sometimes, she's okay, acting all normal, when suddenly the tracker jacker venom takes over her body, making her heave and writhe on the ground. Other times she'll be swatting her hands at the empty air around her, as if she's trying to defend herself against something. Whatever the venom's introducing to her head, no doubt.

It happens to me too, but I seem to have more luck than the others.

Marvel, though, is going through the worst.

I've heard people's immune systems react differently to tracker jacker venom compared to others. One time Marvel broke out into a run, running to something or away from something, I don't know. Marvel's not only hallucinating, but he's throwing up more and more often. I think the smell's starting to stick to our clothes. Disgusting, am I right?

"We can't keep going," Clove says breathlessly. "We have to turn back."

I don't like this idea, but what else can we do? I don't really care about Marvel, but the venom is really starting to get to Clove. If we keep going like this any longer, she might even die.

"Fine," I say after a moment's hesitation. I help her up and we turn back toward camp.

It takes us longer than before to get there. It is late afternoon now, and the sun is beating down on us hotter than ever.

We get back to camp and we all sit down, finally getting to rest. I take the time now to examine the lumps on my body from each of the tracker jacker stingers. I got stung eight times. Clove got stung eleven times. Marvel got stung fifteen times. Our lumps are red and swollen. If we hadn't pulled the stingers out, it would have been much, much worse.

I am looking through the supply piles again for any kind of medicine. I have a few bottles of different creams that we all try, including Nero, who has gotten stung ten times, but none of them work. We desperately need sponsors. Now.

We sit and do nothing. What else can we do? The best we _can _do is beg for sponsors. Normally, we would have gotten what we needed by now, so I know something's up.

Suddenly, I see dark smoke billowing up toward the blue sky.

"Look!" I yell as loud as I can. Clove is sitting by herself in the tent, and Marvel and Nero are all the way by the supply piles, so I yell loudly, letting them hear me.

Everyone looks.

Someone has lit a fire.

"In the middle of the day? _Really?_" Marvel says disbelievingly. "That's just _asking _for trouble."

"And trouble will find them," Clove says with a knowing smile directed at me. I smirk and the three of us immediately begin loading up on weapons and food, going as fast as we can.

"Nero, get your spears," I say immediately.

Clove stops in her tracks. "He stays here. Someone needs to watch the supplies." Marvel says in a matter-of-factly tone.

"He's coming!" I say impatiently. "We need him in the woods, and his job's done here anyway," I continue. "No one can touch those supplies."

"What about Lover Boy?" Marvel asks accusingly.

"I keep telling you, forget about him," I say in exasperation. "I know where I cut him. It's a miracle he hasn't bled to death yet," I say, picturing the cut on his leg in my head. "At any rate, he's in no shape to raid us."

"If you say so," Marvel says hesitantly, still doubtful.

"Come on," I say. I toss a spear to Nero and we take off in a light jog toward the forest's edge.

Another thing comes to mind. "When we find her, I kill her in my own way," I order, "And _no one_ interferes." They know who I'm talking about. Clove gives me a knowing look, and I know she can trust me to make sure the Girl on Fire will die an agonizingly slow and painful death. I smile in anticipation.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

We finally get to the fire, but to our surprise, no one is there.

"Seriously?!" Clove throws her hands up in the air when I confirm we've found nothing. She grimaces in disappointment and kicks a rock.

We examine the campsite for a little while, looking for any kind of tracks that could lead us to this mysterious tribute. There's nothing. Not one footprint. I can't stop the roar from escaping my throat as I stab my sword into the ground. I really wanted to use it.

Marvel wanders off a little farther in search of tracks.

I try to remember who's still alive. Marvel, Cato, Nero and I, obviously. Plus Thresh, his district partner, both tributes from Twelve. Oh, and the girl from Five.

It can't be Lover Boy, he's too badly injured to move. Thresh is in his field, so that leaves Katniss, the girl from Five and the girl from Eleven. It could be any of them. I try to pull together anything I can remember from the reapings, interviews, and training scores of the girls from Five and Eleven. They never really stood out to me, and I don't even know what the girl from Five looks like.

I'm not getting any closer to figuring it out. We have no idea who could have been here, so close to our Career pack, and not be noticed by us.

So I give up and just sit there, waiting for Marvel to come back.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

When I think Cato is not looking, I sneak a look at him. I know how badly he wants to win. But I think about how high the chances are of us two being the last tributes in the arena. How we will have to fight to the death. I can tell Cato will hesitate when it comes to that point; we're friends…well, as close to friends we can get, giving the current circumstances. But what we have, what relationship we've formed over the past two weeks, is what will make him hesitate.

And in his hesitation I will strike.

Marvel comes bursting out of the bushes, pointing up in the sky behind him. "Another fire," he says.

Cato and I jump up in shock. "Another one?" Cato asks suspiciously.

Sure enough, we all look toward where Marvel is pointing, and we see more smoke rising toward the afternoon sky.

"That can't be coincidence," I say. I don't believe in coincidences.

"I don't know what the deal is," Marvel says, "But we should try one more time. Maybe we can get there before the person leaves."

I doubt Marvel's idea, but it's worth a shot. What else is there to do? We don't know where any of the other tributes are except Thresh, who won't come out of his little grass field.

"Let's go," I say to Cato. He nods and we both run toward the second fire.

When we get there, I realize this campsite looks exactly the same as the last. Empty.

"Where's Marvel?" Cato says, turning his head to look behind us.

Marvel stumbles up to us. "Tracker venom," he says. Oh. He probably threw up again. It's worse now though; Marvel's skin is pale and sallow looking, and I know the venom will have its way with him soon. And me soon after, if we don't get sponsors. Where were they? Surely we would have gotten something by now. Last I saw Brutus, he told me we had a ton. So where were they?

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

"It's the same as the last damn fire!" I exclaim, getting impatient.

Marvel walks off again in search of anything that proves someone was here. I sit there, taking a huge gulp of water. Clove is fiddling with a curved knife, leaning against a huge boulder, and Nero is pacing back and forth.

"They can't have gone far," I say. Clove nods and Nero ignores me.

"Why would someone build a fire and then just leave it? What kind of careless mistake is that?" Nero says, speaking his thoughts aloud.

"I don't think it's a mistake," Clove butts in. "No one still alive in this arena would be that stupid, or they'd have gotten themselves killed by now," she says, her brows narrowing in concentration. She has a point. But why would someone want to lead us off on a false trail away from our camp?

Wait a minute. Away from our camp. _Away from our camp._

I put myself in this other tribute's perspective. Why would I want to lead the Careers on a false trail?

_To distract them, of course._

Distract them from what?

My question gets answered when we hear a loud _BOOM!_ The ground shakes a little, knocking me off balance.

Cato and I look straight at each other with realization in our gazes. "The supplies," I whisper. Without hesitating, the four of us make a wild, mad dash for the lake, where our beloved supply piles lie.

We run and run, as fast as we can. My heart pounds with the action. I promise myself whoever set off those bombs _will_ be dead when I get there, if they aren't already.

"I _told_ you Nero should have stayed!" Clove yells.

Cato bursts through the trees bordering the meadow, the rest of us right behind him. Cato reacts first, grabbing fistfuls of his blond hair and pounding on the ground, every punch hot with fury. He roars in anger, and I let out a string of curses. Marvel tries to calm us down.

Nero walks forward with stones in his hand. He throws each stone where a bomb was originally buried, making sure they won't blow up on us later.

Nero calls back to us. "It's safe!"

The three of us walk forward, hoping to scavenge as much as we can, but there's nothing. In my peripheral vision, I see Cato kicking boxes aside, muttering to himself furiously. There's absolutely nothing left! What are we supposed to do now, starve?

Then, out of nowhere, Cato turns and charges toward Nero, yelling his head off. "This is your fault!" he bellows. "We _told_ you to make damn sure that if one bomb goes off, the rest will stay inactive so the rest of our supplies are safe! And now they're gone!"

Nero says nothing, only turns and attempts to run away.

Mistake.

Cato is too fast. Nero doesn't get one foot away before Cato's hands reach his neck, snapping it sideways. Nero falls to the ground and a cannon sounds.

_So long, Nero._

I sling Nero's backpack full of food and weapons over y shoulder. We walk away from the body so the hovercraft can pick it up. It is evening now, and we have to figure out what we're going to do about our supplies.

"We still have our four backpacks," I say.

Marvel goes still. "Glimmer," he says.

My eyes widen in realization. Glimmer's backpack. There's still food in there.

"We'd have to go back to the tracker jacker nest," I say.

Marvel shrugs. "They'll be long gone by now," he says.

"Forget Glimmer's stuff," Cato snaps. "We need to start eliminating people. We're down to the final eight." If we don't starve first.

"Seven," I correct, shaking my head. "Whoever bombed our supplies is definitely dead," I say, pointing toward the sky, where the Panem seal will soon appear along with the faces of Nero and our bomber.

"We still need to hunt," insists Cato.  
He's right. By now, they'll start interviewing our families about how they're feeling now that their child has made it this far in the Games. Now that the weaklings have been weeded out, the competition really gets intense. _Let the Seventy-Fourth Annual Hunger Games begin._

We all light our torches to help us see in the night. Then we stride into the forest to hunt.

~*~*~X~*~*~

Soon the seal of our country appears in the sky, and Nero's photo appears. Then the anthem plays, and the sky goes black.

All three of us were paying close attention. And only Nero showed up.

That could only mean one thing…

The bomber survived.

A new kind of rage fills me, and I feel like slamming my torch on the ground. Cato roars in anger and says, "We have to find them! Whoever bombed our supplies - they did it on purpose."

I nod. That we know. I look around us, through the trees, and I know we have to find the bomber.

"Let's go," Marvel says with a growl, and we jump up with a grim determination to find and kill whoever made a fool of us today.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

We travel for a long time, not finding anyone. After a while we get to a stream and we follow it, hoping another tribute may be depending on it as their water source. No luck.

We start to retreat slowly back toward the Cornucopia but using a different route to cover more ground. The walk is nothing, but I'm getting restless, and so are Clove and Marvel.

It is day now. We've been travelling all night and all morning, and we're getting closer to the Cornucopia again.

Marvel stops in his tracks. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That scream."

"What?"

"Someone screamed."

Clove shakes her head. "No one-"

"Shh." We all strain our ears. Nothing.

Marvel takes off in a run. He darts in between trees and out of sight.

"What was that about?" Clove says.

We both stand there, perplexed. Then I shrug. "The jacker venom probably made him hear something." I shrug again. "Let's just get moving. He can track. He knows how to find us if he wants to rejoin us."

Clove and I decide to stay away from the Cornucopia for now. After the explosion, no one's going to bother trying to steal our supplies, and since the supplies themselves are all gone, what's the point?

"So it's just the two of us now," I say hesitantly.

Clove just nods. "And there are eight of us left."

"Yeah." I don't know what else to say, so I just shut up. Eight of us left. A thought nags at me from the back of my mind: I know I'll have to kill Clove in the end. Not Marvel. Not Thresh. Me. No one else is able to kill her. Thresh will be able to, maybe, but I won't let that happen. Now I realize I must be the one to kill her, because, why not admit it? I love her. I've met her before several times back home, but I really got to know her in these last few weeks. She understands me. She calms me down when I get too mad. She keeps me sane. I'm the only one in this arena who loves fighting and killing as much as she does. Anyone else - those weaklings who cower around, hoping not to die, those cowards who don't want to kill, they're worth nothing. And Clove is worth too much.

~*~*~X~*~*~

We finally decide to stop and rest. It's dark now, and the seal of Panem appears in the air. Clove and I look up out of curiosity.

Marvel.

The girl from District Eleven.

Then the anthem plays and the sky goes dark.

My face snaps up to meet Clove's gaze. Something happened. Someone killed the girl from Eleven, that I can believe, but Marvel? I would think he'd survive longer.

"Someone killed them. They probably fought, no Career goes down without a fight," Clove says.

"Except Leena," I say. That earns a laugh from Clove. Leena, a pathetic excuse for a Career. A coward. Someone who runs instead of fights. She may have been smart, but she's nowhere near worthy to have the Career title if you ask me.

"You think it was Thresh?" Clove asks.

I shake my head. "He's in his field."

Clove gives me a look. "How do we know he didn't leave?"

"What, and kill his own district partner? Only Careers even _think_ of doing that."

"No," Clove says, shaking her head, "Maybe Marvel killed her or something. And then Thresh killed Marvel."

"If Thresh were out of that field we'd have ran into him by now!"

"I know, but who else do you think could have killed Marvel!?"

We both go silent, the same person having entered our thoughts.

"The Girl on Fire," Clove mutters.

"Katniss," I say. "Well, she did get an Eleven. That forces us to pay her some attention." My brows furrow in pure hatred for this girl, someone who thinks they can beat Clove and I in the Games.

No one will beat us, I can tell you that.

Well, scratch that. No one will beat _Clove_ but _me._

~*~*~X~*~*~

"So there's six of us left," Clove summarizes. "That we know. There's you and me, Thresh, and the 'Tributes on Fire,'" Clove mocks.

"There's one more."

She shrugs. "No idea who it is," she says dismissively. "It doesn't matter."

I hesitate for a moment before I speak up. "When I stabbed Lover Boy, he was trying to help Katniss escape."

Clove looks at me with curiosity. "Yeah. And?"

"Before I left…I saw her. Katniss. She was grabbing Glimmer's bow and arrows. The silver ones."

Clove is quiet for a second. "You could have killed her. And she still went for the bow?"

I nod.

"She must need it badly then," Clove concludes. "Maybe that's her weapon? Maybe that's how she got that Eleven."

"I bet it is."

Clove grins. "Well, now we know more about her." She yawns.

"Go to bed," I say. "We'll need our rest for tomorrow."

"Okay."

I lie down on the dirt. I beckon for Clove to come and sleep next to me and she raises her eyebrows.

"What? I'm cold." I pat the ground again.

She rolls her eyes, but eventually she comes and lies down next to me.

We fall asleep looking at the stars.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. R&R please, I'd appreciate it! -B**


	8. Two Crowns

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Sorry it took me a little longer to update this chapter. Sorry it's so short; it's mainly a filler chapter. Comments, reviews and feedback are appreciated. Thank you!**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own _The Hunger Games_ or its characters.)**

~*~*~X~*~*~

_**Chapter 8: Two Crowns**_

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

I jerk awake, throwing up everywhere except where Cato is lying down.

I heave and heave until there's nothing left to come up, and then I fall back onto the ground, tired.

The action wakes Cato up. "Wha?" he mumbles, still half-asleep.

I cough, and I start to see stars in my vision. I blink a few times, and then my vision starts to blur. I close my eyes for a second.

~*~*~X~*~*~

"Clove!"

I see Cato running towards me, and for some odd reason he is shining, as if he has a halo around him. Or some kind of aura.

"Cato?" I mumble.

"Clove, you have to wake up! Please!"

"I am awake…"

"Clove, answer me!"

"I _am_ answering!"

Then my eyes snap open, my stomach growing loud with hunger.

Cato's tense face relaxes. "You okay?"

I blink a few times, and I look around. Cato isn't running toward me. He's sitting down on the ground. He was never running. It must have been a dream.

Then why does my body feel so horrible?

My stomach aches with hunger. My eyes feel like they've been stabbed, and I've thrown up again. Maybe it's a mix of the tracker jacker venom and my growling stomach? After all, we ate the last of our food yesterday.

Now that I look back on it, that wasn't a very smart idea. Normally we have more than enough to eat, even outside the arena back home. In the arena, we had the supply piles. I'm not used to being hungry like this. Neither is Cato. So we just ate what we wanted last night and that was that.

"I'm hungry."

He sighs. "Me too. We should've saved our food."

"I would say let's wait for our sponsors, but it _looks _like we can't count on them." I give a pointed look toward the sky.

It is noon now. When I first woke up, it was early morning. That means I was out for a couple of hours.

I dig through my backpack. I pick out some knives and stick them through my belt, so I have some backup if I somehow lose the knives in my jacket. And right before I zip the pack up again, I see something at the bottom. I reach in one more time and pull out a small piece of bread.

Cato grabs for it. I jerk my hand back. "Finders, keepers."

He grimaces. "I'm hungry," he says, as if that by itself is enough reason for me to hand over the bread.

"So am I."

"Well, you can't have it. Then there'd be none for me."

"So that means you should have it, leaving none for me?"

He scowls in irritation. "Just give me the bread, Clove. Don't make me take it from you."

"No. I found it."

Cato jumps on top of me, making me drop the small roll of bread. It rolls about three feet away, and I can't reach it. Cato has me pinned down on the ground. He crawls forward, but I jerk my knee up to kick him in his groin. I grin, thinking back to the Tribute Training Center back home, where I did the exact same thing.

I get up and shove Cato to the side. I dash forward, scooping up the bread. I smile triumphantly. Well, that is, until Cato shoves me to the ground again, his sharp sword meeting my throat.

I go to knee him again, but he blocks my blow with the hilt of his sword, making a stabbing pain shoot through my knee. While his sword is absent from the air near my neck, I take out a knife from my belt and move to stab him. He jumps off me, making me miss. I scramble up and we face each other.

"You didn't have to do that," he says, glancing toward my knife.

"You took out your sword first."

He sighs in exasperation.

"It's only a roll of bread," I say with a smart tone.

"At least split it in half!"

"Why should I? You've already pissed me off, saying you want it all for yourself. Why should I share with you at all?"

"Then why are we allies?"

I shrug. "We're Careers." But that's not a good enough reply. And by the look Cato is giving me, he knows that too.

He hesitates. Then, "Is this really how you want it to be?"

I know he isn't talking about the bread anymore. I shrug. "_I_ could kill _you_ _any_ day," I say with a challenge in my voice.

Cato raises his eyebrows, his face darkening. "Let's see about that."

And then he lunges toward my throat.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

Clove jumps back and her arm shoots out, letting go of a knife. It comes straight at me, but I duck and the knife barely misses me, hitting the tough bark of a tree behind me. And believe me, when I say "barely missed", I mean her knife actually took out a few blond hairs from my head.

I feel a string on my head. My hand goes up to my scalp, and I feel a small cut warm with my blood. She grazed me.

I see a sadistic smile take over Clove's face.

I charge at her again. She easily dodges, and she twists around to stab me as I run by, but I swerve away from her at the last second, and I take a swing with my sword. She ducks down to the ground, and her leg swings out. Before I get tripped I jump and somersault backward.

When I get up, she's already on me. Before she can do anything, I grab her arms and twist one back, making her cry out in pain. I shove her to the ground hard, making dead leaves go into her mouth. Gross. She spits them out and before I can stab her with my sword, she jumps up and darts away into the trees.

Oh, so that's how it's going to be? Since when does Clove run away from a fight?

I smile a cruel smile. _That's okay. I don't mind chases,_ I think to myself. _Let the hunt begin._

I know she's faster than me, but I'm stronger, with longer endurance. Sure, she's fast, but she can't keep up her speed for too long. And that's where I can beat her.

So I charge after her, not wasting any time. She's getting father and farther away from me, and I strain to catch up. Soon she's completely gone, and I stop running, my eyes darting all over the place scanning for some sign of her.

Then, all of a sudden, she's on me, knife in hand. I grab her arm and she pushes as hard as she can. I push back. I'm not about to let her knife anywhere near me.

For a second, the knife and our hands are still because we are so evenly matched. But I'm stronger, and soon the knife is slowly being pushed backwards, toward her face. I push upward, tilting the knife to face her instead.

And I push.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

It is dark now. The seal shows no deaths today, and I look back down to my own knife being pointed at me. The run has tired me out, especially with me being so hungry and that stupid venom still trying to take over my body.

I know I'm going to lose if I don't do something. Cato's stronger, and that knife is so close to my skin it'll cut me any second now. I jerk my face back, but that only makes him jump on me, pinning me to the ground under his weight.

I panic for the first time. I never lose a fight! And now that I have, I feel anger boiling inside of me. I will not let some obnoxious boy think he can overpower me!

And yet, he _has _overpowered me. Here I am, pathetic, pinned to the ground in the Hunger Games by _my own district partner_, about to be murdered.

I close my eyes. For a second, I think I don't want to see this. I don't want to see a knife coming at my face that will end my life.

But then I think about it. Only cowards are afraid of death. _Careers_ are afraid to die at the hands of someone not worthy of killing them.

And it is in that moment I decide Cato is worthy to kill me. We may be enemies, but he is strong and skilled. He is not afraid of death. He looks forward to the kill.

And so do I.

So I open my eyes, waiting patiently for the moment when the cold blade of the knife will pierce the skin on my cheek.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

_Goodbye Clove,_ I say in my head. _It has to be this way. I have to win, and I have to kill you._

_ I have to kill you._

I raise my hand holding Clove's knife. I am about to stab the girl under me when a man's voice booms through the forest.

"_Congratulations!_ Congratulations to each of you who has survived the Seventy-Fourth Annual Hunger Games down to the final six! The Gamemakers want to announce a _very_ important rule change, so _pay attention_!"

A rule change? Since when are there rules in the arena?

Clove is confused too. My grip falters on her, and I am not paying attention to her anymore so she shoves me off her. We both look up to the sky, as if that is where the voice is coming from.

"As of right now, the rule change will take effect: _two_ tributes from the _same district_ will _both_ be declared victors of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games if they are the last two alive."

Two victors. From the same district. It registers in my mind right away that I can win without killing Clove. She can win with me.

For a moment I think back to my dream, the one where Clove and I are both crowned victors and we head home, back to District Two. How everyone claps for us. How everyone is proud of us. I smile because my dream has become a reality. Both of us can win. Both of us can live.

The man, Claudius Templesmith, repeats the change."Two tributes from the same district will both be declared victors of the Seventy-Fourth Hunger Games if they are the last two alive. Thank you for listening, and may the odds be ever in your favor. Good luck."

Clove's gaze meets mine. "Guess we didn't need to fight after all," she laughs weakly.

I pull her into a hug. Her body is tense at first, but after a few seconds (well, more like a few minutes) her muscles relax, and her arms encircle me to hug me back.

So now there will be two District Two victors. I can't help smiling. _Cato Larek and Clove Sevina._ Cato and Clove. Now nothing stands in the way except those other pathetic losers who think they can win. And all we have to do is hunt them down.

I think we'll start with District Twelve.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**I'll hopefully update soon. I'm super busy what with school starting next week and everything, so I'll try to update as soon as I can. R&R please! -B**


	9. One Death

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Sorry for not updating in a while.. I don't know the next time I will be able to update; I've been super busy. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to all the people who regularly give me feedback on all my chapters. I appreciate the all the support!**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own _The Hunger Games_ or its characters.)**

~*~*~X~*~*~

_**Chapter 9: One Death**_

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

I can't count how many times I've seen that flash of red hair in the trees ahead of me in the past five minutes.

I'm starving, and running at full speed doesn't help. My breathing is ragged, and so is Cato's. Then I stop because a huge roaring fire has suddenly appeared in front of me and I cover my mouth and nose and turn back at once.

"Clove! Where the hell are you going! She's right there!" a guy yells. It vaguely registers in my mind as Cato's familiar roar.

I turn my head back to look for Cato and I see him directly in front of the fire, so close the tongues of flames could touch him. He is pointing straight into the fire, and I vaguely wonder how he doesn't feel the fire's heat.

"No way!" I yell. "I'm not going in there! Are you crazy?!" Why would he want to go into the fire for? "Get away from there!"

"What?" Cato calls, sounding exasperated and impatient. He looks back into the fire, slams his sword into the ground, and says, "Damn it! She's gone! What the hell, Clove?"

"Who's gone?" I blubber.

He only looks at me in disbelief. "_Uh_, the only person we've been chasing for the past half hour?"

I dash forward and grab Cato's arm, jerking him backward. I overestimate how far I jump back, so we both end up falling over, him on top of me. All I know is that the fire is growing and advancing. In our direction.

Cato only chuckles obnoxiously. "If you want me that bad, just tell me-"

"No, you idiot, we have to get away from that damn fire!" I shove him off me and scramble up, motioning for him to cover his mouth and nose. I'm coughing, coughing, coughing, and I stumble backward and turn to run.

Cato's arm yanks me back. "_What are you talking about?_" he says, enunciating every word as if I don't understand English. Then realization crosses his confused face. "What do you see?"

"Uhhh," I say, my vision blurring, "Fire…" Then what little food I'd been able to hold down decides makes an appearance again.

"Fire?" Cato mutters under his breath. He looks back and his face scrunches up in confusion. "No, there's definitely no fire here, Clove. Nothing." He reaches forward and grabs my hand away from my mouth, where I was holding my shirt up to avoid smoke inhalation.

Cato says there is no smoke.

~*~*~X~*~*~

It's evening now. Almost dark. My vision is back to normal and there is no raging fire present. I'm not throwing up anymore. My temples hurt, but other than that I feel normal. Well, besides the growing issue of hunger.

"I'm hungry, Cato," I whine.

"Right," he says, trying to figure out what to do. "Maybe we can hunt. I have some of Marvel's spears, and you have your knives. We can do this," he says. "We can do this. We're Careers, after all."

"Okay," I say. We walk as quietly as we can, and soon enough, we come across a rabbit. I get one of my knives out. I close my eyes. Take a deep breath. Open them. And then I throw.

Do you think I hit it?

_Duh._ Of course I do. The knife hits the rabbit in the chest, and Cato lunges forward to pick the animal up. He takes out the knife, wipes it on his jacket, and hands it to me. "Nice throw," he chuckles. Hunting doesn't seem that hard.

Cato gathers some wood and starts a fire (how he knows how to start a fire, I have no idea). He cooks the rabbit on a spit made of a broken branch, and then we eat. Well, it's not Capitol food, but it'll do. For now.

"So, it's just us, Thresh, Lover Boy, Katniss, and…. Some other girl," Cato lists aloud.

"Finch, I think," I say. "The girl from Five, right?"

"Yeah, I think that's her name," he replies with an "_I really don't care_" tone.

"That's the first time we've seen her at all," I say. She must be smart enough to stay hidden. "She seems like the run-and-hide type. Not much of a fighter, I bet."

A huge smirk has crossed Cato's face. "Then she'll be an easy kill once we find her," he says.

~*~*~X~*~*~

We keep walking and talking. First we make fun of some of the tributes we didn't like, and then I change the subject and we start talking about our lives back home. It turns out, back when I was around seven or so, Cato and I had already met in the Tribute Training Center. How about that? He had stabbed me in the arm, so I jumped on him and bit the arm he stabbed me with. We laugh hard at that, and he tells me my older sister had said to him afterward, "That's what you get for messing with my sister." I grimace at that and I fall silent.

"What?" Cato says. "Did I say something?"

"No."

"Then what's wrong?"

I hope the cameras aren't on us. Hopefully, Lover Boy is off dying somewhere or  
Thresh is doing whatever it is he does in that huge field of his or Finch is running from someone and they are being filmed instead of us.

"It's nothing. I just…" I frown when he gestures for me to continue. "My sister and I aren't exactly close. Well, we used to be."

He seems to know I won't say anything else, and he has enough sense to change the subject.

"Let's turn back," he says. "Back to the Cornucopia."

I shrug. "Okay," I say. "Maybe Thresh will decide to come out of his little hiding spot and face us like a man."

"I doubt it," Cato says. We turn and, for the rest of the day, travel back to where out supply piles used to be. "But if he does, remember I'm your backup."

I roll my eyes. Does he really think I'm that defenseless against a non-Career? "_For the last time_, I can take Thresh."

"Sure you can."

"Don't be an ass, Cato."

"I'm not. _For the last time_, he's bigger and stronger than you. Be careful."

I'm confused. He usually has confidence in me, seeing that I'm as good of an enemy as he is to the other tributes. So why is he telling me this now?

My cheeks heat in anger when I say, "I'm not useless. I'll fight Thresh on my own."

Annoyance flashes through Cato's eyes. "Fine."

"Fine."

With that, we keep walking.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

We get back to the Cornucopia, and we are starving. That rabbit delayed the hunger for a few hours, but now it's worse. And we need water. Our bottles are only half full.

The sky shows us it has been an uneventful day, and I think how it is only a matter of time before the Gamemakers decide to bring us together.

My piss is turning a little brown. Not a good sign.

It is really late now. Or maybe really early. We travel south of the Cornucopia meadow for a few miles until the ground starts to get rocky, and there are less and less trees as we continue on. I move a medium-sized boulder near a small ledge in the rocks, forming a makeshift cave. We both sit inside and sip our water.

Then, all of a sudden, Clove shoves me. I fall over to the side, totally surprised. I hit my head on the boulder. _Ow._

"Shit, Clove, what're you doing?"  
She kicks my shin, and then she opens her jacket and reaches for her knives. She has one in each hand, and I scramble up, reaching for my sword.

"What the hell are you doing, Clove?" I say, fully awake now.

"You're going to lose, just face it," Clove says in a sadistic tone. She smirks and jabs one of her knives at me. I jerk backward. "You, against a District Two Career? Plus Thresh, wherever the hell he is?" She throws her head back, saying "_Ha!_" loudly. "Don't tell me you actually _think_ you have a chance of winning."

"Um, I _am_ a District Two Career."

She ignores me and jabs her knife again. I dodge it, and the knife misses me by two inches.

"You wanna play that way, huh?" I say. "Come and get me," I taunt.

She jumps at me, and I dodge her. I shove her to the ground, and when I move to back away, she dives and grabs my ankle, making me fall backward. She gets up quickly and then she jumps on me, holding her knife to my throat.

I laugh. "If you wanted to be on top of me that bad, all you had to do was say so," I say, throwing a flirty smile at her.

"Euch," she says. "I don't play for your team, loser. _Besides,_ don't you have Lover Boy?" she says, eyebrows raised, her knife breaking my skin. I feel a trickle of blood drip down the side of my neck.

What? Did she just say _Lover Boy?_ "Do I _look_ like the Girl on Fire to you?" I say skeptically, my eyebrows narrowing doubtfully. That's the most disgusting thing I've ever heard. "Jeez, what's your problem?"

"Problem?" she says, smiling wickedly. "Once you die a slow, painful death…I don't think I'll have a problem." She shrugs mockingly, and her knife digs deeper into my neck, the sudden pain making me gasp.

"Speaking of Lover Boy-"

I shove her off me. It isn't really that hard, seeing as she probably weighs around a hundred pounds.

What is she doing? Apparently I have a sudden interest in Lover Boy? And she thinks Thresh has a chance at beating me? And since when does she want me to die a slow, painful death?

And what's that supposed to mean, she doesn't play for my team? Does she like...girls? That doesn't exactly sound right. She certainly seemed interested in boys back home. I vaguely remember Ronan telling me about my friend Corin's crush on her, and how she liked him back. How they would have started dating. But then we volunteered for the Hunger Games, so that'll have to wait until she gets back. If I don't kill her first.

For a split second I hate Corin. He's popular back home, like me, but the fact that he has Clove's attention just rubs me the wrong way.

Then it hits me. The tracker jacker venom. It's still in her system. She probably thought I was Katniss! Who else would she talk about Lover Boy to?

I grab Clove by the shoulders. "Clove," I say firmly, shaking her. "Katniss isn't here. It's me, Cato. It's m-"

"Shut _up_!" She shoves me backward into the boulder, and she raises her knife in the air and I see the knife coming toward my face, fast. I jerk my head to the side and Clove's knife stabs the stone. I move to grab her but she ducks and somersaults backward. I jump on her before she can get up and I pin her down on the ground.

"It's me, Clove! Chill a little, would you?"

"_Mmmph_!" she says. "Get _off_ of me!"

I slap her. Hard. Full on across her face. I almost laugh at how utterly shocked her face looks, but I hold it in. Now's not the time for jokes.

"Now tell me, do you see Katniss Everdeen anywhere?"

"Um," she says, blinking twice. "…No?"

"Exactly," I say. I get off her and let her stand up. She brushes imaginary dirt off her pants and looks around. The sun is going to rise soon.

"Sorry," she mutters.

"Don't sweat," I say. Normally I would make fun of her, but she might not take it well in her current state.

Once she seems back to normal, I suggest going off to hunt again. Clove agrees and we travel west into the forest; that's probably where Finch and the two kids from Twelve are.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

I see another rabbit in the brush. Cato, of course, just tromps along through the green like he's king of the world, and he slashes his sword around, pretending he's killing fighting someone. Idiot.

"Cato!"

Cato turns with a crooked grin and says, "Yeah? Did you wanna tell me how unbelievably hot I am? 'Cuz I'm all ears."

"Yeah, totally," I tell him sarcastically. I strain to look around his huge figure, but the rabbit is already gone. "There goes the damn rabbit, you idiot! You scared it off!"

He shrugs. "There'll be more," he says nonchalantly.

"That's the only one I've seen all day."

"There'll be more," he repeats, dismissing my words.

Then my vision starts to act up again. My temples start to throb, and suddenly the ground is rushing toward my face.

~*~*~X~*~*~

When I wake up, my head feels like it is going to split open. My eyes feel like they've been stabbed, and I throw up again and again and again until there's nothing left to throw up.

Cato studies me with worry, and he tells me I'd been asleep for a long time. It is night now, which means I've been out for hours.

He also tells me the tracker jacker venom just might kill me. Oh joy.

~*~*~X~*~*~

You know, sometimes the Gamemakers have these feasts. Sometimes they have food, other times they have the tributes gather just so they can fight. In other words, they hold feats when there're only a handful of us left to bring us together and provoke a brutal, bloody battle.

Back home, I always looked forward to watching them.

Now, I'm looking forward to fighting in one.

Why am I talking about feasts, you ask? Because Claudius Templesmith says there's going to be one, of course. Cato and I listen as trumpets sound and the man's voice booms across the arena:

"Congratulations, tributes, for surviving the Seventy-Fourth Annual Hunger Games into the final six. We will be holding a feast just for you."

Cato gives me a knowing smile, and I return it with enthusiasm.

"Now, hold on. Some of you may already be declining my invitation."

"Probably Katniss and her dying Lover Boy," I snicker. "Maybe Thresh too, seeing as he's too scared to come out of his little field."

"But this is no ordinary feast," Claudius says. "Each of you needs something desperately."

My laughter dies in my throat. We need food. Now. And , oh you know, maybe a little something for my tracker jacker venom problem wouldn't hurt, either.

"Each of you will find that something in a backpack, marked with your district number, at the Cornucopia at dawn. _Think hard_ about refusing to show up. For some of you, this will be your last chance."

Cato and I are already up, gathering our supplies and getting ready to set off.

"If anything, Katniss will be there," I say. "She'll need something to fix up Lover Boy's leg."

"Yeah," Cato nods. "I'll take care of Katniss, you get Finch, and-"

"I can get Katniss. I want to kill her."

After a moment, Cato nods reluctantly. "Okay, then. As long as you make it slow." His lips curve up into a smile.

"Of course," I reassure him. I find myself looking forward to this feast more than anything now.

Maybe it'll be the grand finale.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**This chapter was mainly a filler chapter, so tell me what you guys think in PM or reviews. **

**I'm also working on a story of some kids from District Four, and if you have any suggestions, questions, ideas or anything else, PM me.**

**I'm also working on a more thorough backstory for Cato and Clove, so if you guys want me to post that, I will.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	10. Rock Beats Knife

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Sorry for not updating in SUCH a long time. It's like I have less and less free time every week so I can barely get on at all anymore. Anyway, YES, this is the chapter a lot of you have been waiting for. I literally rewrote this, like, ten times because I was never happy with it, so hope you guys enjoy it….feedback is GREATLY appreciated. I haven't been getting a lot lately, probably because I haven't updated, so please review this chapter! (Warning: Swearing.)**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own _The Hunger Games_ or its characters.)**

~*~*~X~*~*~

_**Chapter 10: Rock Beats Knife**_

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

We decide to take a chance and pick some berries. We're too desperate to pass them up now.

When I'm picking berries, I notice there are two different kinds Clove and I have picked up. They look almost the same; I don't even notice it first. But Clove stops me when I move to eat them.

"Wait!" she says.

I pop one of the two berries I'm holding in my mouth. "What?"

She stops dead, her eyes watching my every move. Then she sighs in relief and walks up to me quickly. "Some of these are _nightlock_, Cato. You'll be dead in a second."

"Yeah? How do you know?"

"They used them in last year's Games. They look exactly the same as those berries," she points to a bush of berries identical to the one I just ate, "but their juice is blood red. That's how you can tell." Her tone is condescending, which doesn't exactly make me happy.

"What're the chances I'd eat one? Jeez, you need to relax."

Her head snaps in my direction. "Just don't eat these berries if you can't tell the difference. You could've eaten the one in your hand instead of the one you actually ate, and if that were the case, you'd be dead already." Then she turns and walks away.

I just roll my eyes. "Mind your own business."

I can just see the steam coming out her nostrils when Clove turns around. "Fine. But if you eat the wrong damn berry and you die, don't come crying to me."  
"Well, technically I wouldn't be able to, seeing as I'd be dead."

Clove scowls in annoyance.

I look at the new berry I am holding. I squeeze it. Blood red juice oozes out, and I think how, if Clove hadn't pointed out the whole telling-the-difference-by-juice thing, I would have eaten this berry. This nightlock berry. And I would be dead, leaving Clove to fend for herself against Thresh.

I toss the berry down to the ground. I don't pick any more.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

It's too cold.

I literally can't move my toes. My fingers are a bit numb and I can see my breath in front of me when I exhale. Tonight's going to be freezing.

"These damned Gamemakers," Cato says under his breath. He shivers, the movement travelling down his spine.

"We should stop for the night," I say. "No point wasting all our energy getting to the Cornucopia and being all tired during the feast."

Cato just nods. We pick a spot under a huge tree and lie down, our heads touching the tree's trunk. Cato puts his arm around me and I rest my head on his huge bicep.

Now, lying down next to Cato, is when I realize how much I like him. Cato, who is flirty and sarcastic. Cato, who is merciless and bloodthirsty. This boy is someone who looks forward to the hunt. He is someone worthy of his blood and his Career title. He not only lives up to, but surpasses the standards for a Career back home. This is how we are alike, him and I. We both live for the blood and gory of the Hunger Games. I am worthy of his blood and he is worthy of mine. We are both intelligent and brave. We are both confident and proud. He understands me, and in return I am there for him. Now that there can be two victors, I finally allow myself to imagine how what we have between us could change when we get back home.

~*~*~X~*~*~

I have these really annoying skin rashes that won't go away. They're itchy and puffy and red. One on my lower back, one on my right leg and another on the underside of my left arm. They hurt like hell. Literally.

"You can get skin rashes from hunger, you know," Cato says.

"And how would you know that?" I say skeptically.

He shrugs. "A trainer told me when I passed by the edible plants station," he says. "I was walking toward the weapons stand and the plant trainer told me I really should take some time at the survival skill stations just in case. Then he tried to tell me all these symptoms of, like, dehydration or something."

"And you kept walking?"

Cato snorts. "Of course I kept walking. Didn't think our fucking supplies would be blown up," he says harshly.

I understand what he means. Careers never depend on the survival stations during training. We just practice with what we've already been training with our whole lives: our weapons of choice. We get first dibs on the supplies anyway. Why learn how to find food when we already have more than enough for the whole duration of the Games?

Of course, who knew some coal mining bitch would be smart enough to blow up our supplies, right?

~*~*~X~*~*~

We keep moving through the night. We have to, if we plan to get to the Cornucopia by dawn.

I find us some mint leaves to chew on so we don't think about the ever-growing issue of hunger. What little pee I have is a dark brown. My rashes are worse. My stomach growls louder and louder every minute.

We get to the edge of the clearing. We still have a few hours, so we decide to make our way over to Thresh's field.

"Wonder what's gonna be in his backpack," Cato says.

"Yeah." I can't think of anything else to say.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Cato sneak a glance at me. I turn my head to look at him, and we just sit there, looking at each other, my heartbeat growing faster with every passing second. I can't believe I actually thought I was going to kill him.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

It's dawn. Clove and I are crouched by the Cornucopia clearing. We glance around, anxious, waiting for someone to come out. Then the ground in front of the Cornucopia splits open, and a black metal table slowly rises up with a mechanical whirr in front of the golden Cornucopia's entrance. I see four backpacks on it. District Two's and District Eleven's bags are huge, while Twelve's is puny and Five's is medium-sized.

Clove points with her chin. "That little bag probably has Lover Boy's _precious _medicine," she snickers.

I feel a smirk cross my face. "We should take it."

Clove nods. "Definitely."

Then, all of a sudden, a figure bursts out of the Cornucopia, grabs the medium-sized bag, and runs off into the forest. I see flashes of red hair.

I raise my eyebrows. "Clever," I say. Clove nods at me and I know what that means. I get to go after Finch. Good-bye, District Five.

"There'll definitely be a feast tonight," Clove says.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

I smirk as Cato sneaks off to go after the girl from Five. Then I dash forward. I am directly behind the Cornucopia, so I can't see who's just run out on the front side until I come around the right side. What'd you know? It's my best friend, Katniss Everdeen.

_Katniss Everdeen._ I spit on the ground, feeling the loathing rolling through me, making my body jumpy and restless. My body already does what I want to do; one of my serrated blades whizzes through the air and toward the Girl on Fire.

Unfortunately, she quickly raises her bow, protecting her face from my knife. _Damn._ The next thing I know, I see an arrow slicing through the air, coming straight toward my chest. I turn just in time, but a stinging pain fills my upper left arm. The sudden pain is almost unbearable.

Almost.

I have to stop running and yank out the arrow. I very briefly examine my arm, making sure it's not bleeding too much where leaving alone would risk my bleeding to death. I inhale sharply from the searing pain.

But my wound isn't my priority now. I shut out the pain, just like I was trained to do back home. I run forward and I see Katniss grabbing the tiny orange bag she so desperately needs. I can't let her get that medicine…finally, a worthy challenge.

Instinctively my arm whips out, throwing my next knife so fast the girl doesn't even have time to turn around. My weapon slices through her forehead and dark red liquid oozes out of her newly-inflicted wound. I smile in delight.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

I run, darting through trees, my feet stomping on the dead leaves that litter the forest floor. I see that red hair now, so close, just a few feet ahead of me. I know I'll catch her. She may be faster, but I'm stronger and my legs are longer. I have more endurance in me than she does.

In the back of my mind I remember Clove back at the feast. I know I'll have to turn back at some point, if not right now. She can handle Katniss and Thresh on her own, but I still want to be there. Just in case she needs me. Plus, who would want to miss out on the tragic murder of the famous Girl on Fire?

All of a sudden, Finch makes a sharp left. This is when I realize she's led me to Thresh's field, on accident or on purpose, I don't know, but Thresh could be anywhere in this tall grass. I backpedal quickly, knowing it's better to stay on known turf than venture somewhere unknown.

I look to my left. Finch is long gone. I lost her. _Fuck_, I think to myself. If I can't catch Finch, I should make myself useful at the Cornucopia.

I am about to turn around, but I see something ahead of me.

A huge figure, someone as big as me, jumps out of the tall grass.

It's Thresh.

He has no weapons, so I put my sword away. I can handle him.

Thresh is ten feet away from me now.

Then our fists meet.

And we fight.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

I run toward her as fast as I can, slamming into her, sending both of us to the ground. She grunts and we struggle for a bit, but it's no contest. We're both small, but I have the strength for this fight.

I let a smug smirk cross my face. "_Where's your boyfriend_, District Twelve?" She grunts and tries to struggle. "Still hanging on?"

"He's out there right now hunting Cato," Katniss does her best to intimidate me. It doesn't work. Then she screams as loud as she can her district partner's name. "Peeta-"

My hand slams down on her throat, blocking her windpipe. Katniss gasps for air, and for a moment I am in pure bliss. Seeing a girl who though she could beat Cato and me, Careers, being choked to death knowing how badly she wants to bring Lover Boy his medicine? No words can describe how I'm feeling. I wish Cato could see this.

"Liar," I spit. "He's nearly dead, Cato knows where he cut him," My smile grows bigger when an image pops into my head. "You've probably got him strapped up in some tree while you try to keep his heart going…" I raise my eyebrows mockingly. "What's in that pretty little backpack? That medicine for Lover Boy? Too bad he'll never get it."

Then, still keeping her pinned down with my legs, I unzip my jacket and show Katniss my impressive and deadly array of knives. My favorite weapons. Katniss squirms and struggles with panic, the fear radiating off her. I pretend to be deep in thought, as if debating which knife to use, and then I pick out one of my bigger curved blades. I hold the knife closer to her face, and her eyes dart to it and she struggles again. But I am too strong.

"I promised Cato if he let me have you, I'd give the audience a good show," I sneer. I tilt my head slightly and give her my most menacing smile, and I can tell she's freaking out inside her head.

I scoff in disgust. "Forget it, District Twelve. We're going to kill you, just like we did your pathetic little ally," I say, taunting her. "What was her name? The one who hopped around in the trees? Rue? Well, first Rue, then you," I pause for a second, smiling sadistically, "and I think we'll just let nature take care of Lover Boy. How does that sound?" I ask. I know she's going crazy, that little brain of hers racing to find one last escape.

"Now," I pause, pretending to consider. "Where to start?"

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

I punch Thresh in his stomach, and he doubles over. When he falls to the ground, he grabs my foot so I kick him in the face. I miss because he rolls to the side at the last second. He stumbles back up and slams his heavy body into me, making me backpedal a few steps, but I regain my strength quickly. He ducks, dodging my punch and runs.

I chase after him. Into the forest again.

It is not for another five minutes that we run into Finch. She is digging a hole in the ground, her green backpack beside her, when she is suddenly in Thresh's path. Ht jumps over the small hole and knocks her aside. She scrambles up and gets the hell out of there. I make a beeline for her direction. Thresh may be the bigger fish here, but I might as well eliminate all the unnecessary competitors now before the real fight begins with Clove, Thresh and me. And that includes clever little Finch.

I am not gaining on her nor am I losing distance. This is going to be a long chase; I can tell.

The red-haired girl in front of my eventually gets away, though. She always does, right? She's gotten away because I have stopped dead in my tracks.

I stop because I hear Clove's bloodcurdling scream.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

I hastily wipe the blood from Katniss's ugly forehead wound. I tilt Katniss's ugly, sallow face to the right, and then to the left, thinking of where to start. I want this to be slow. I want this to be painful. So painful it tortures her. I want her last seconds to be dying a slow, cruel death. And I want to be the one to do it.

Katniss jerks her head forward, trying to bite me. Euch. Not so fast. My free hand grabs a fistful of her hair and wrenches back toward the ground, making Katniss's head jolt back suddenly. She gasps in pain. I smile in pleasure.

"I think…" I say, my voice smooth, "I think we'll start with your mouth." I take my blade and touch the tip to the edge of her lip. I slowly trace the outline of her lips, all the while making sure my blade digs into her skin. Katniss stares me straight into the eye. Finally, someone brave enough to die with dignity. Most people would whimper and whine, closing their eyes shut as if that would make all their nightmares go away.

"Yes," I say, "I don't think you'll have much use for your lips anymore. Want to blow Lover Boy one last kiss?" She doesn't say anything, but she spits in my face. Gross, but I have to say, she's got guts.

I howl in rage. "All right then! Let's get started."

My knife just touches the tip of her mouth again when suddenly strong burly hands yank me up into the air.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

My heartbeat thumps faster in panic. I sprint back where I came from, to the Cornucopia. _I'm coming, Clove. I'm coming for you._

When I'm running, I see Finch again, digging the same hole she'd been digging earlier. She grabs a medium-sized metal can out of the backpack and tosses it into the hole. Then she starts to bury it again. I start to wonder what's in the jar, but it is only a passing thought. Clove is my first priority now.

I run past Finch, who flinches when she sees me, until I hear Thresh's husky roar echo throughout the forest. "What'd you do to that little girl? You kill her?!"

I hear Clove's frantic voice next: "No! No! It wasn't me!"

I run with everything I have now. If I don't make it in time…Clove can't leave. We're supposed to win. We're supposed to be victors together. The fact that Clove could actually die in these Games makes my heart drop into my stomach. I can't bear the thought of losing her.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

"What'd you do to that little girl? You kill her?" Thresh shouts in my face.

My heart is beating double-overtime. I have never been so scared in my entire life. It never occurred to me that I could actually…_die._

"No! No, it wasn't me!" I scream, desperate to convince him otherwise. I _never_ touched Rue. Marvel was the one who killed her!

"You said her name! I heard you!" his sharp voice exploded, rage contorting his features. "You kill her?"

"No! No, I-" I am going to say I meant Marvel was the one who killed her but then Thresh takes out a sharp rock in his hand and raises it. All thought goes away and now only instinct is left. I'm too scared to do anything else so I scream for the first person who comes to my mind. "Cato! I screech. "Cato!"

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

"Clove!" I yell, desperate to save her. I want her to know I'm almost there. Dread fills my heart like deadweight when I realize I'm too far away, not even in the meadow yet. I run with everything I have left; my anger at myself for leaving her, my hatred for Thresh because he is the only one Clove could possibly be scared of and that I stopped pursuing him in the forest, and my desperation to save this girl whom I've only known a week, and yet she's still managed to make me love her so much.

I know I'm too late. But I keep running anyway. It's one of those situations where you know something's gone wrong, where you know you can't do anything to change what's happened, but you give it all you've got anyway. It's what you do for the people you care about.

This isn't the Hunger Games. This is a war. A war against other kids I don't even know. A war against Thresh, who is about to kill the girl meant to come home with me.

I finally reach the clearing and I see Thresh running toward the opposite of the meadow and into the forest. Then my eyes set themselves on Clove's dying body.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

During training back home, a previous victor, Enobaria, talked to us about what the arena was like. She said that we all have a choice. You can flee and cower and hide, waiting for someone else better and braver than you to find and kill you, dying on their terms, or make sure the other tributes fear _you_ and make them pray they never encounter _you_ in the Games. Make them shiver with fear when they hear your name. Most people pick the first option when they sit at home praying their name won't get picked during the reaping. Or when they hide like cowards from everyone else in the arena. But a few people pick the latter. This shows in training, when you go for the knives instead of the knot tying. Or during the bloodbath when you run into the line of fire with other brave tributes instead of fleeing into the landscape behind you. Or when you chase your opponent down instead of running away from them.

"Clove! Stay with me, okay? You know you can! Don't leave. Stay with me!"

To be a victor, you have to pick the second choice. You have to _want _to win. You have to hunger for victory. You have to want it so bad you'll do anything and everything in your power to get the crown of the victor.

"Clove. _Clove!_"

_May the odds be ever in your favor._ Hah. Real victors don't need odds when they have skill, pride and determination. Real victors don't need luck when they have an unquenchable thirst for blood and fear of the other tributes on their side. These are all the things Cato and I have. Marvel and Glimmer? They were too swallowed up by the fame and attention that comes with representing their district that they never actually realized what it truly takes to be a real opponent in these brutal and gruesome Games.

"Damn it, Clove! Don't fucking leave me! _Please_, Clove. _Please_."

I am already dead. I know it. I'm done for. The thought comes as a shock for me, seeing as I've been trained to kill for my entire life and all that is thrown away in the presence of a big burly boy from a weak, outlying district. What I hate the most, though, is how I will die by Thresh's hands. This would make me flush with rage during any other circumstances, but I am too weak to make a big deal out of it now. All I can say is that I hope for Cato to be the one to win now. He has to be the victor. For District Two. For me. For himself. He is the only person in this arena who will kill me out of honor. He is the only one here worthy of my blood; I am the only one here who deserves his. Hopefully that will not be ruined as well.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Sorry for the really late updates. Finally finished Chapter 10.. A big thanks for all of my readers' support, it really keeps me writing! I hope you guys like this chapter the most so far, and I hope you guys think I caught Clove's death really well. If not then tell me ASAP.**

~*~*~X~*~*~

**For those of you who are asking about what I'm working on after Raised is finished, I'm working on Unrest: Tension in the Dark Days about a group of kids living in District Thirteen during the Dark Days and a oneshot about Rue.**

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Thanks again for the support and reviews! **


	11. Sword Beats Rock

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**To start, I am SO SORRY I haven't been on Fanfiction for nearly two months. A lot of people have been asking me if I'll update soon, if I abandoned my stories, etc. and just to let you guys know, I have not abandoned my stories. I just haven't had the time to really sit down and write chapters, and the few times I had time to do so, I had no inspiration whatsoever. I've been super busy with school, sports and the holidays, of course.**

**Thanks for all the reviews and feedback. And for those of you asking, yes this is one of the last few chapters…if anything I'll post up to Chapter 13 or maybe even 14, and then **_**Raised to Fight, Born to Die**_** will be done! I don't want to end it, but at the same time I really want to move on and work on some other stories.**

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Hunger Games**_** or its characters.)**

~*~*~X~*~*~

_**Chapter 11: Sword Beats Rock**_

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

"Clove!"

I run toward her, still holding my spear, and kneel by her side. In my peripheral vision I see Katniss running toward the forest, looking back at us as she runs. But I don't care about her right now. Clove is the only thing on my mind.

And I can already tell she's done for.

"Clove, stay with me, okay?" I say, desperate. I hear my voice shaking, and I clear my throat to show her I'm not scared. "You know you can! Don't leave. Stay with me."

She can't talk. She's either in too much pain or her skull is too damaged for her to think properly anymore. Her eyes can't even focus on me for more than a few seconds. My heart plummets into something deep and dark as I realize I can't save her. This is it.

"Clove," I say, desperate. Dammit! This wasn't supposed to happen! We were supposed to win together and go back home as victors, back to District Two! Everything has gone wrong. And I can't fix it.

I've failed her. I've failed Clove. "Clove," I mutter. But it's a lost cause. But I can't stop whispering her name.

I lay there like some hopeless idiot, begging her to stay with me, not giving a care to what was around me, if Thresh comes back, is Katniss is still around, if Finch is long gone. I can't bring myself to care.

_I love you, Clove_. I want to say it so badly. Just four little words. But I know I can't, not with the cameras that are surely recording this crucial moment in the Games. You can't love someone in the arena. Even with the rule change, it's every man for himself. To want someone else to win was…wrong. You're supposed to _want_ to kill your opponent, not fall in love with them.

What pains me the most is that Clove doesn't know. She doesn't know I love her. And I won't ever know if she feels the same way.

"Please, Clove. Please." My voice sounds different now. It sounds like a voice pierced with grief. A voice with no hope. Definitely not the voice of a Career.

Clove's hand I was holding is already slack, so I have to lean to her chest to see if she's still there.

I listen.

And I hear nothing.

She's gone.

~*~*~X~*~*~

I jump up, a howl of rage escaping my mouth. I'm going to kill Thresh. I'm going to make it slow and brutal, to make him regret he ever killed my district partner. Not that I would have killed him any different otherwise. After all, I am a Career. And this is the Hunger Games.

I don't really hear Clove's cannon sound. My mind is too busy reeling on what to do next. I can't linger on Clove's death; it would only slow me down and make me weak. Clove would lose any respect she had for me if I let her death get to me.

I just know I have to find Thresh. And Katniss. Wherever the Girl on Fire is, hell, she's screwed. She's got one of the most dangerous people in the arena out for her blood, not to mention she's tied down to a greatly injured Peeta, whom she has to protect as well as defend herself at the same time.

I don't know if Katniss got her pack from the feast. Thresh might have it. Or Finch-

My thoughts freeze. The feast. The backpack for District Two.

My head whips toward the entrance to the Cornucopia.

There are no packs left.

Thresh. It has to be. Finch isn't strong enough to defend herself if I come after her looking for my pack, so she wouldn't have stolen it. She's smarter than that.

Katniss can't afford to have me going after her. She might not have even gotten her own pack.

That leaves Thresh. His bloody death is my next move.

I set off, grim determination rolling off me in waves.

No matter what, I know the drive to win is still inside me. No matter how much I want to run back to the place Clove died, willing her to come back, no matter how much I don't want to win without her, I still have to win. I have to be the victor for her. Her and District Two.

~*~*~X~*~*~

I spend the rest of the day and almost the whole night trying to track Thresh. No doubt he's in his little field, so that's where I go. Plus, a thunderstorm has been forming throughout the day; thankfully, my sponsors finally decide to send me a gift. I open the silver box attached to the matching parachute to find a thick rain jacket designed to keep heat in.

When I get to the edge, I'm starving. I realize I haven't had anything to eat since before Clove was still around, and I'm starting to feel a little…slower. Slower than usual. I can't fight Thresh like this. My stomach growls in agreement.

I squint at the grains in the dark. I can't see properly, and even if I could, I wouldn't be able to tell is these grasses were edible. _Damn it_, I think. Those supplies weren't supposed to be blown up. I feel another wave of hatred for the girl from Twelve as I pick some grasses and stick the ends of them in my mouth. Something to chew on until I find real food.

I dig through my backpack. I fish out my water bottle and drink the two sips left inside. I tie up my two leftover spears to my backpack with the rope I salvage from the silver parachute. Then I look out into the field.

I wonder what's in there. There could be anything, really – muttations, for sure. Not to mention quicksand, and Thresh himself. No time to underestimate his skills here. He probably knows these fields well, coming from the district of agriculture. He's at the advantage.

I hear a clunk behind me. Not from another tribute, or anything else living. I turn to see my sponsors are being especially generous today; I open the box from the parachute and whisper a "Finally, Brutus," knowing the food inside was his idea. The jacket was probably Avena. I mentally thank them both as I dig into a mini feast of bread, cheese, grapes and water. My stomach is silent with contentment.

I decide to find a place to sleep until morning. I figure the Capitol's got enough to film with Katniss and Lover Boy struggling to save his life, so I can afford to wait a little. After I take care of Thresh, I'll go after them. Unless Finch decides to show her self. Not likely though.

~*~*~X~*~*~

I open my eyes to grey clouds. It's starting to rain again. It's probably morning now, so I sit up and look around.

That's when I see yet another silver parachute lying about ten feet away. I walk toward it and open the box to find a pair of heavy-duty boots. I wonder how they are any better than the ones I have now.

I put them on. After all, I got them at this moment for a reason. I toss my old shoes into a nearby bush and stash the parachute there as well. Don't want Finch on my tracks.

I walk toward the field and put my backpack on. After taking a gulp of water, knowing I can now count on my sponsors to refill it, I walk into the tall grass.

I take out my sword and put two knives into my belt loop. I move slowly and quietly, not wanting to give away my exact location to anyone, or anything, nearby.

I hear hissing. I whip around. I look through the grass in all directions. Then I loon down to see a snake biting into my boot, when I don't feel anything at all. Good thing I decided to put my new boots on. I shake my foot, making the snake practically jump away, and it slithers off into the tall grass.

I continue cautiously. I think I hear a rustling to my right, but I look and there's nothing there.

After what seems like an eternity, I finally sit down and take two huge gulps of water. I open my backpack and eat all the food I have left. "I need strength," I say, hoping to catch my mentors' attention. Mission accomplished.

I open the silver bag that floats down to the ground to find roasted chicken with slices of about ten different fruits, plus roasted potatoes. I eat some sliced apples and a chicken wing and wrap up the rest for later. I set off again.

It's raining hard now. I hear claps of thunder and see bolts of lightning hit in the distance. I put don't put my hood up though, because it'll cut off my peripheral vision. I want to be able to see all around me if I have to.

All of a sudden, my foot sinks into the ground when I step. I try to yank it out, but my foot only goes deeper so the ground is up to my ankle.

Dammit. I've run into quicksand.

I have no idea how to get my foot free. My first instinct is to yank my foot out, but I've been doing that, and the sand is up to my knee now. I grab a handful of strong grasses nearby and hold on for leverage. Since moving didn't work, maybe staying still might.

I don't have the patience for this. If Thresh comes now, I'll be a sitting duck.

~*~*~X~*~*~

I look up into the sky. The sun's moved, and guessing from its position I guess it is around four o'clock.

I've been sitting here for about three hours. I slowly lift my foot from the quicksand, and I don't get a fight. The sand on my leg quickly gets washed away by the heavy rain, and I get up, pack my bags, pick up my sword, and look around me.

Ahead of me, I see nothing.

Behind me, I see…something. In the distance. Through the grass.

I squint my eyes for better vision.

It's Thresh.

I charge forward, sword handy. Thresh charges forward, too. When we are about ten feet away from each other, the dark figure jumps.

I jump too.

Then our bodies collide, and that is when I realize the figure isn't Thresh. It's…something else entirely.

I stab my sword into its leg, and the creature howls in pain. It turns its head toward me and growls, its red liquid eyes almost glowing.

I drop my backpack and it opens, spears coming loose from the rope and my water bottle rolling out.

I've seen this mutt in other Games before. People call it a morticanus, which apparently means something close to "deadly dog" in some ancient language. In Components class back home where we study what Gamemakers put in the Games to change odds, I learned that the morticanus was modeled after a wolf and a rare species of animal called a _hyena_. The Capitol programmed them to be more deadly and have an unquenchable thirst for human blood. That's why their eyes are red. Their claws are sharper, and their teeth contain venom that weakens you to the touch; once you come in contact with the venom, you get strong hallucinations and you're basically guaranteed a slow, torturous death.

I can't let that thing bite me.  
The dog kicks me and I fly backward into mud. Then it turns and charges at me again and right before it hits me I realize it isn't running on its right hind leg – the leg I stabbed with my sword.

I try to hit its other hind leg. Maybe I can cripple it enough to slow it down and I'll have a better chance at killing it.

But I don't get the chance. The thing pounces on me and I grab a fallen spear and hold it against the dog, its jaws clamping on my weapon. I push with all my strength, but the dog is stronger. I'm losing.

"You can't lose, Cato!"

I almost drop the spear. The dog growls and screams, saliva dripping onto my left shoulder. It's on top of me now.

Clove. Clove's here. She's come to win with me.

"Don't let that thing kill you," she warns. "You _can't_ come this far and die on me, Cato!"

My mind is spinning so fast my head starts to hurt. How can she be here? She's dead!

"Cato! Don't just sit there!"

The dog pushes harder, claws digging into my skin.

"Clove!" I yell, my voice dying out in a clap of thunder. Drops of rain feel like drops of acid when they hit my face. _Where is she?_

"Kill it, Cato! Just kill it, Cato!"

Kill it. I can do that. I look up at the morticanus, its bloodthirsty mouth inches away from mine, and only a single thought crosses my mind.

_I will not die today. _

I push the dog off me with my spear in a burst of strength. My back hurts from being shoved into the ground, but it doesn't slow me down much. The dog recovers quickly and lunges at me again, but instead of getting me it snaps my spear in half, a few splinters of wood raining to the ground with the rain.

I jump at the dog with nothing left. There's no use running.

"You're almost there, Cato!"

My mind clings on to Clove's words as if they are my only lifeline. I lunge at the dog one last time, my hands going toward its throat. We both crash to the ground as I choke the thing. It growls and fights and whines, but I'm on top of it, my right leg putting weight on the dog's injured leg, keeping it from getting up. We stay like that for what seems like forever, but then the dog slowly stops moving and I slowly get off it. It's dead.

"I did it," I say. I look around, but Clove is nowhere is sight. "Clove!" I call out.

I whip around multiple times, looking in every direction. "Clove, dammit! Where are you?!"

She's not here.

Because she's dead.

I must have imagined it. Hearing her voice. Her calling out my name. She's nowhere to be seen, and all I can think about is how I got my hopes up for nothing.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Thresh**

"Clove!"

Thresh's head snaps around toward the voice. It was a boy's voice, and Thresh very much doubted the boy from Twelve would be all the way out here on this side of the arena, so he guessed Cato was paying him a visit.

"_Clove,_ dammit, where are you?"

But Clove is dead. Thresh knows it. Thresh is the one who killed her.

Thresh grabs his sickle from the ground and he exams its long curved blade.

His mind races. Cato is a Career. A Career with plenty weapons, food, sponsors, and worse of all, odds. At first glance, Cato has the greater advantage of the two, but then again, the boy from Two can't be in that great a mental state if he's yelling for his dead district partner while out hunting the next biggest threat to his win.

He thinks of what he found in District Two's backpack from the feast. Plenty of food to last for days, maybe a week, plus iodine and tracker jacker antidote cream. That means Cato must have tracker jacker venom in his system, unless the medicine was meant for Clove. Judging from the huge amount of food in the backpack, District Two's tributes were probably starving at the time of the feast, but if Cato's still alive now, surely he'd gotten something from his sponsors to keep him alive.

_Stop_, Thresh thinks. _You're overanalyzing this. Just get it done with._

At the beginning of the Games, Thresh knew he would die.

When his district partner, Rue, was murdered, he knew he would die, but he would try his best for Rue and District Eleven anyway. He had motivation.

Now, though? He has a _sliver_ of a chance. But it is a real chance all the while. And Thresh isn't about to let his only chance at life slip away.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

Someone comes crashing through the grass from the east. For one, sickeningly crazy moment I think it might be Clove, but she's long gone. That leaves Thresh.

The rain is pounding now harder than ever. Thunder and lightening don't let up.

Thresh is getting closer. He's running.

I pick hide my spears behind a thick clump of tall grass and pick up my sword.

But now he's slowing down.

When he gets to the clearing my fight with the morticanus made, he stops completely. "Cato," he grumbles.

I nod at him. "Thresh."

He gives me this look, like he's…unsure. Or disbelieving. "Why were you calling for the girl," he says slowly, as if he senses this is dangerous ground.

"None of _your_ business," I snarl, suddenly angry.

He doesn't say anything. I don't either. We both look at each other, staring each other down, seeing if either will give up.

Finally I am too impatient. I charge straight toward him. He sticks out his sickle but I dodge his attack and retaliate by slashing my sword. He jumps back, and throws a punch, but I duck. I aim a roundhouse kick into his stomach and he doubles over, wheezing as the breath gets knocked out of him.

I punch him again. I don't stab him while he's down because I want this to be a fair fight. I want to win by pure skill, not by odds.

He recovers quicker this time. But instead of punching me, he brings two fingers to his mouth and whistles. Loudly. The kind of whistle that echoes all around.

My head snaps in every direction, trying to see what the purpose of it was. Far away to my left, I see the grasses moving and rustling. Something is headed our way.

Thresh backpedals into the grass, hidden.

I brace myself, feet apart, sword pointed forward.

Well, would you guess what jumps out?

~*~*~X~*~*~

The morticanus almost barrels me to the ground, but at the last second I turn sideways and bring down my sword into its back. The thing howls, and its head snaps back to bite me, but I back up quickly, narrowly avoiding a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth.

Somehow, the thing is still alive. Did Thresh summon it? How did he befriend the thing? Or maybe the dog is just attracted to noise of something. That would explain why Thresh hid in the grass when it came. Maybe, if I could find a way to distract the dog long enough for me to draw Thresh out of his hiding space I'll find my answer.

I look around, my eyes darting everywhere while the dog recovers from its possibly fatal wound. I have to find a way to kill that thing, or find a way to bring Thresh out.

My eyes rest of the dead morticanus I killed not half an hour earlier. Its teeth are full of poisonous fluid. The dog bites its prey to inject venom, but if the dog gets the venom in its own system? Maybe the creature isn't immune.

I jump toward the dead mutt. I pry its mouth open and yank out two fist-sized teeth from its upper jaw.

But when I turn the teeth are knocked out of my hand. Thresh has caught on to my plan. He shoves me into the ground and I lose my sword. I swing my right foot to trip him, and when he jumps to avoid the swing he barely keeps his balance. I scramble for the teeth and slip on the wet ground, but I still pick them up. I turn and run past Thresh, toward the now growling dog. It growls and I jump without thinking, a ferocious roar escaping my mouth. I land on the thing's bloody back and stab a tooth into its body, and the dog howls and howls so loud my ears start to hurt.

It shakes me off it. Then it runs away, deep into the forest of tall grass.

I get up, some of my muscles hurting a bit. I see Thresh has a tooth too, copying my idea. His weapon is nowhere to be seen, and mine is half-buried in mud. We're both almost completely evenly-matched now. Except for the fact that I've been practicing all my life.

I run forward with a grunt.

Thresh charges too.

He grabs my arm.

I grab his shoulder.

And we fight. For the last time.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Thresh**

Thresh already knows he's done for.

His neck is bleeding deeply from Cato's sword, and he has morticanus venom in his system from when Cato stabbed him with a tooth.

But he still fights. He won't fall without a fight. If anything, he can still injure Cato and give District Twelve another step towards victory.

The Hunger Games. Thresh knew this wasn't just an ordinary game. It was much more than that, but Thresh couldn't figure out just what. Rue definitely had no idea. He didn't know if the Fire Girl knows either, but he has a feeling she does. She is smart. She can figure it out. Maybe, just maybe, Thresh can do some damage to the blond boy before he kills Thresh to help the Fire Girl win. She deserves it. And she tried to save little Rue.

Rue. Sweet, kind Rue, who was murdered under such brutal circumstances. He had never met Rue before the reaping, and he didn't always get along with her, but to Thresh, she reminded him of the few good things left in this cruel and tainted world. From the flowers that bloom in the fields during spring to the graceful black-and-white mockingjays she loved so much back home, to the breathtaking purple and pink skies Thresh looks out into every day at sunset. The only things he can enjoy in the harsh life of living in District Eleven.

Thresh played these three images in his mind, on an endless loop.

Even though it was so harsh, Thresh was grateful for the few things he had. He had always looked forward to reporting for work in the fields every morning because it was his only escape, the only time he could feel at least a little separated from the prying eyes of the Capitol. The only time he felt calm. The only time he could be himself. Deep in the fields.

Now though, the fields are a place of death. Here, in the fields, Cato strikes him; The fields aren't a place of peace anymore. The Hunger Games have ruined even that for Thresh as well.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Again, I'm sorry for not updating in so long! Hopefully I'll get to the next chapter soon. Please R tell me what you thought of this chapter! I hope you liked the parts in Thresh's pov, I kinda added that at the last second.**

**As for the mutt I made up...it was a weird name, I know. I basically just went to Google Translate in Latin and mixed up words like "death" or "dangerous" trying to think up a unique name. It wasn't one of the best moments on this chapter to me, haha. Thanks for reading and being so patient with me, be on the lookout for another chapter coming later on. Thanks!**

**P.S. - If this story gets at least 55 reviews (it has 41 now) by the time I add Chapter 13 I'll update a special "bonus", if you'd like to call it, chapter where I publish the complete detailed backstories I made for both Cato and Clove. So spread the word and enjoy!**


	12. On With the Killing

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**Unfortunately, the Seventy-Fourth Annual Hunger Games are almost over…If you haven't read my last chapter, this chapter picks up right after Cato has killed Thresh. **

**Please please please R if I get around 60 reviews by the time I post Chapter 13, I'll update a special bonus chapter when this story is finished. It'll have full backstories on Cato and Clove, and Marvel and Glimmer may be included. **

**Also, if you enjoy reviewing stories (and you give helpful reviews)or need reviews for your stories, copy and paste the following link to go to the "Review Game", a forum where you give reviews to get reviews. It just started, so please help it grow!**

forum/The-Review-Game/127467/

**Thanks! Now on with the story.**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Hunger Games**_** or its characters.)**

~*~*~X~*~*~

_**Chapter 12: On With the Killing**_

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

I don't hear the cannon go off. The thunderstorm is too loud.

I gather up my weapons and pack them; I put my sword in my belt, and tie my spears to my backpack. Then I head over to the dead dog's body and pull out some teeth. I dig in my backpack for a spare container or sack to store them in; they may be handy for my sure-to-come fights against Twelve and Five. After tying up the sack I found, I put it back in my backpack and head back toward the lake and the rock platforms Clove and I slept on not too long ago farther south. I don't hear the hovercraft come due to the storm, and I don't look back to check if it's there either.

As I walk, I let the rain wash off all the blood on my skin and in my hair. I let myself imagine Clove walking next to me. Together, we hunt down Twelve and kill Katniss while she's trying to protect Lover Boy, and then we go for Peeta, letting both of them bleed a slow death. Maybe we could make them watch each other die. Then, with only three left, Finch will have been drawn to the fight to see what she can get out of it. She'll most likely be after Katniss and Peeta's leftover food and supplies. Clove and me can draw her out and trap her. I doubt she can fight, that little thing, so we'll kill her quickly. But we'll probably go after Finch first and save Twelve for after. The best kills for last.

But Clove isn't here. I am woken by the sharp reality of Clove's death. Even if she survived, she would have been ruined. Her head wound was too much. I guess I could say she was doomed from the start, but that's the thing. She wasn't doomed. In fact, she was supposed to be one of the last people in the arena. She might have even won herself.

And it's all because of Katniss. And Thresh had a part in it too. But it was mostly Katniss. The Girl on Fire, who got an Eleven in Training, who killed Glimmer and maybe even Marvel as well. The one who defies all rules of the Games, all traditions. She's my enemy in this arena. She's been the one to kill all along.

~*~*~X~*~*~

That night, it stops raining in time for the anthem. The sky clears somewhat and the Capitol seal flashes in the night sky.

Thresh's face flashes. Then it goes dark.

I want to go out and hunt, but that would be a stupid idea with only four people left. I might as well rest up now and have enough energy or whatever for tomorrow, which is sure to have some deaths.

I settle in the rock cave Clove and I visited earlier. As I open my backback and realize I forgot to look for Thresh's hideout in the fields. Two's backpack from the feast is probably stashed there.

I look up to the sky. A simple solution. Soon enough, I see a flash of silver. Then I see the whole parachute with rolls of bread and duck meat. There's sliced apples and pears, as well as a plate and silverware. I eat everything and mutter a thank-you to Brutus and Avena in between bites.

"Fire." It's the first word I've said since Thresh's death. Another parachute floats down moments later with matches. I gather some branches from the trees about fifty feet away and start a small fire in my cave. I slide off my rain jacket and rub my hands together.

I lie down, full. Tomorrow I will hunt Katniss and Lover Boy, knowing Finch is either following me or them. Someone will die tomorrow, definitely. Hopefully it'll be by my hands.

~*~*~X~*~*~

When I wake up, I find my cave is partially flooded. My fire's gone out. I quickly gather my stuff and head out. I've gotten another parachute, so I've even got a full breakfast including fancy Capitol bread, cream cheese, and, like, a billion different types of fruits as well as a bar of chocolate.

It's not raining anymore. The rocks here stretch on for miles; I forgot just how far south the cave is. I head north, on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary.

I do see smoke far away in the sky, probably from the other side of the arena, and I study it for a moment. It can't be Finch. Her tactics are too evasive for that. It has to be Twelve, but why would the Girl on Fire be stupid enough to make a fire? Maybe she's inviting me. Maybe she's letting me know Peeta's healed.

That makes me think Peeta might have _actually_ healed, despite his horrible odds.

Ah, I doubt it. I know where I cut him. Even with Capitol medicine, it'll take a long time to fix that mess. If only Clove were here, we'd be laughing at him for hours.

I quickly shrug Clove away from my fucked up mind. I can't think about her right now.

I hear a very distant cannon and I look up at the sun. It might be around four o'clock. My guess? The cannon is for either Finch or Lover Boy. Maybe the three finally ran into each other. Maybe Finch was following them and Katniss saw her. Either way, I hope the cannon isn't for Katniss because I want to kill her myself. I want to see the light leave her eyes when I slit her throat. Right after she watches me torture Peeta to his death. Which should be soon. Maybe even tonight.

I've changed my mind. Instead of hunting them, I'll let them come to me. I don't know what's on the other side of the arena, but I know the Cornucopia area extremely well. Why give them the advantage like I did Thresh? It'll also tire them out, especially Lover Boy with his injured leg.

A huge smirk takes over my face as I break into a run, heading north, back towards where the games all started.

Back to the Cornucopia.

~*~*~X~*~*~

After travelling for the rest of the day, I make it back to the Cornucopia. It seems like it's been centuries since I was last here with Clove. Back when she was still alive. And the many times before that, with Glimmer and Marvel.

Back then? That was when the Games were pure fun. Just a game. Just a competition. Now, though, it's a lot more serious than that. Now, with only three people left, it's a war. It's been a war ever since Clove was murdered.

I seem to be getting more and more food now than before. I've just received another feast from my sponsors, only this time I got turkey legs and roasted potatoes instead of duck. I eat up, not saving any as usual.

It's dark by the time I finish eating. Panem's seal appears in the sky and the anthem plays. Sure enough, Finch's face shows up. Then the sky goes dark once more.

It's times like now, when I have nothing to do, when my will to kill completely consumes me. It's like some kind of virus that takes over your body. My hands are itching to pick up my sword. I can't stop it, nor do I want to.

But I'm too tired. I've been walking all day. It's best if I were rested anyway, just in case Twelve decides to show themselves. I fall asleep thinking about the next day and what it may bring.

~*~*~X~*~*~

I wake up to yet another breakfast, courtesy of my smart sponsors. I eat bread native to District Two with cream cheese, along with the usual bowl of fruits. I also get a thermos of cold water.

After about an hour has passed since I finished breakfast, I decide to do some target practice. I untie a spear from my backpack and shrug it off. I wave the spear in the sky, and sure enough, a flock of birds take flight. They aren't too high up; they're close enough that anyone could hit them with an arrow or a knife or something. I test my hold on my spear, raise my arm and pull back. Then I throw. My weapon slices the air and hits a black bird right in the chest.

I do this for a while, taking spears out of the birds' bodies after they fall to the ground, but I get bored quickly. Obviously, I don't need practice. I've been practicing all my life.

I look up into the sky. Into the sun. Up at the clouds. It makes me wonder what else is there. Besides Panem. There's gotta be something else beyond Panem's borders that has yet to be discovered. Maybe another country. Maybe different people. People who know nothing of our lives and live by something completely different. I wonder if they know how to kill. I wonder if they know the thrill of fighting.

What about Katniss and Lover Boy? The three of us are from the same country, but yet we are from completely different worlds. I live in a world of blood, killing, and luxury. They come from a world full of fear, poverty, and grimness. How depressing that sounds. I find myself pitying them; it's not their fault they were born into District Twelve. Hell, they probably hate it there too. After all, it is one of the worst districts in the country, and that's saying something.

I put my hands in my pockets, and one of my hands closes around the small wooden cube that was my district token. I remember when my mother gave it to me in the Justice Building back in District Two. It seems like it was so long ago, but it was only a little over two weeks ago. She gave it to me to remind me how much she was betting on my coming home. I didn't say that much of a goodbye to anyone, because I knew I was going to see them in a matter of weeks anyway.

I bet everyone at home is just biding their time until my arrival. I remember Ronan and Rhea, my best friends, and my three sisters, Azalea, Dimitra, and Vanah. They didn't visit me before I left because the three of them consider it bad luck. If they visited me, they might have thought there could be a chance I wasn't coming home, so they would have wanted to come say goodbye just in case. It would be like doubting me before I even entered the arena. A lot of people in District Two think like this, but not everyone. I remember Clove saying her sister Lavender didn't visit her when we were reaped, but it never occurred to me that she might have been one of the few who have never heard of the unofficial tradition.

It's midday now. I have lunch delivered to me from my rich sponsors and dig in. I have a smaller portion now, probably because it's so late in the Games and the prices for gifts are sky-high. This time I actually put some chicken aside for later, as well as some greens and nuts, just in case.

It starts to get dark earlier than usual. It's only late afternoon. I can't tell the time anymore because the sun went down.

I decide to go into the forest for a little bit, maybe look for signs of Katniss and Lover Boy. I know for a fact they're probably tired of waiting for me to come to them, and Katniss, if not both of them, is probably smart enough to know by now I'm not looking for them; I would have caught up to them by now, what with the cannon and the fire. I take out my sword, bored, and begin jumping, somersaulting, doing tricks while slashing nearby bushes and branches. Grunts come out of my mouth with almost every movement. I pretend opponents are closing in on me, and I swing my sword every which way possible, killing all of them. I am so busy I do not notice the subtle rustling in the bushes behind me.

All of a sudden, I am shoved to the ground, dirt going in my mouth. I turn over to see this big black thing on top of me, and my first thought is, _Another morticanus._

But it can't be. Those dogs live in the fields. Where Thresh was.

Then I notice the differences. The creature on top of me has dark brown eyes, not blood red. Its body is more muscular and a lot bigger. Its fur is different, too.

This is no morticanus. It's something worse. My guess? Some kind of Capitol mutt. It looks like some kind of overgrown wolf.

I curse when the wolf snaps it jaws at me. My whole head could easily fit inside its mouth with extra room to spare. The thing snaps its jaws at me, and its upper jaw rakes down the whole left side of my face, leaving me with teeth wounds that feel like they were set on fire. No matter how hard I struggle to get out form under the mutt, its fore paws are like deadweights on my shoulders and its hind legs pin my feet down. I can't move. The only thing keeping it from eating me alive is my hands holding its neck back. I spit in its face; the mutt pulls pack in disgust, and I feel the weight on my right for lessen for just a millisecond. It's all I need. I lift my right foot and knee it in its stomach and that delays the thing for a split second; it's just enough time for me to roll out from under it and grab my sword.

But when I get up, I see the wolf turn its head around. Then it howls, the sound echoing. I start to hear more rustles, and my feet subconsciously step back, step by step.

There's more of them.

I can't fight. I have to run.

I turn and start to sprint. I know I'm in no condition to run, what with my feet and shoulders feeling like they've been crushed to millions of tiny pieces and my face feeling like it's on fire. I can barely see out of my left eye. My chest feels like I haven't breathed for a million years.

I hear the wolf howl again, louder this time, and then I hear it coming after me, its heavy paws digging deep into the earth.

I break out into the Cornucopia clearing, where the Games all started. Ironic, isn't it, to be back here at the end of the Games.

But no time to think of that now.

I don't even notice the arrow that lands in my chest. It bounces right off, thanks to my handy-dandy body suit. I don't notice Katniss and Lover Boy either; in fact, I've already run right past them by the time I actually realize they are there.

My blood's rushing. Both the Girl on Fire and Lover Boy are here, and it's my chance to finish them. But I wasn't counting on the damned wolves showing up. They're after the three of us now, and I'm going to have to take the mutts into consideration when I'm fighting Katniss. If I go up the Cornucopia, they'll follow. Maybe I can push them off. Maybe I could push Katniss off and Peeta will go after her, finishing them both. I can fight them, too. I glance behind me and I realize I'm not wearing my backpack. _Dammit._ I can kiss my spears good-bye. At least I still have my sword, just in case.

I keep running. I get to the Cornucopia. Then I begin to climb, Katniss and Lover Boy not far behind me.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Please review! I haven't been getting many reviews lately because I haven't been on, and it would be great if more people told me their opinions on my writing. I kinda feel like this chapter was rushed, mainly because I wanted to update already. Let me know what you think. Thanks!**

**If this story gets at least 60 reviews by the time I add Chapter 13 I'll update a special "bonus", if you'd like to call it, chapter where I publish the complete detailed backstories I made for both Cato and Clove. So SPREAD THE WORD people! Don't forget to check out the "Review Game" forum if you want to do me and yourself a favor!**


	13. Ruination

**Raised to Fight, Born to Die: The District 2 Tributes**

**A/N: Sooooo…..welcome to the thirteenth and final chapter! Enjoy and don't forget to tell me what you think through PM and reviews!**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Hunger Games**_** or its characters.)**

~*~*~X~*~*~

_**Chapter 13: Ruination**_

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

I stumble down on all fours to catch my breath. I didn't realize how long I'd been running. I can barely breathe. I breathe in and out, my breath raspy. In the corner of my eye, I see Katniss climb to the top of the Cornucopia, and I hear Lover Boy call out from down on the ground.

That's funny. Why would Katniss leave her "star-crossed" lover all by himself while she climbs up to safety?

Then it occurs to me. They aren't in love. It's all a ploy. I already knew this from the start, but it's like I just really realize it now.

The girl from Twelve calls out something to Lover Boy.

I start to get cramps in my side.

I hear the mutts barking and howling and growling from down below.

"Can they climb it?" I call out to the other two tributes, but I can barely understand my voice, wheezing and raspy.

At first neither of them answers me, and then Katniss says, "What?" Lover Boy repeats my words, but I don't get an answer anyway. I look over to see for myself, making sure my hands don't slip on the edge of the Cornucopia roof.

I see Katniss aiming her arrow down at them, but I glance over at her shoulder to see she only has a few arrows left. To waste them on the dogs? Not her best idea.

As my eyes dart to all the dogs below, something nags at me. I look each of the dogs over again, and again and again. Something's wrong.

Katniss screams. Then she shoots an arrow down, and I hear a wolf whine and a loud thud. She hit one of them. Lover Boy says something, and they talk, but I can barely make out their words. My blood's pounding in my ears so hard I feel like I'm about to burst. There's more blood rushing like a waterfall down my face. I've never been this tired out. I take deep breaths, aware that my heart rate is so fast it's literally skipping beats.

I struggle to pay more attention to Katniss and Lover Boy's words.

"What is it, Katniss?" Peeta garbles.

Katniss coughs. "It's them, it's all of them! The others. Rue and Foxface and…" She pauses for a second. "All of the other tributes," she gets out before making a choking sound.

Them? Rue and Foxface? I don't know who the hell Foxface is, but I think Rue is, or was, Thresh's district partner. The little one. I scan the dogs again, trying to take in every little detail, everything I see. It's only now that I notice they all look different. Some have curly hair, some have straight hair, some have dark eyes, some had light eyes. Others have lighter colored fur and some are dark. It's the eyes that get me though. It's something about the eyes that make me squint my own eyes and look harder.

There's one dog sniffing at the Cornucopia; it growls and looks up at me. Its eyes are hazel-colored, and its medium-brown hair is curly.

Curly hair. Hazel eyes.

It's Marvel.

I back up quickly, almost falling on my back. Then I scramble closer, and something with a reflective glare catches my eye. I look closer under Marvel's – I mean the dog's – neck. It has a collar. A collar with a silver jewel engraved in it. There's some kind of writing, too, but I can't read it from up here. The jewel is enough, though.

A jewel. Luxury. District One.

My eyes quickly scan the pack of dogs, looking for the one that should resemble Clove. I have this crazy idea that if I see the dog that looks like her, it might be kind of like me seeing Clove again, in a way. These dogs are tough, bloodthirsty, strong. Just like she is.

I can't find it, though. There's one dog with dark eyes and dark hair, but it's not the right one. I can just tell. When I look at the dog it reminds me an awful lot like Thresh, though. It's bigger than all the others, too.

My breathing's better now. My heartbeat's calming down. I look at Katniss, and she's aiming one of her arrows at Thresh's mutt. The dog is running toward the Cornucopia and is about to jump. Now's my chance. While she's distracted and can't aim one of her arrows at me. I look down to see Peeta on the ground by her left foot, and I go for it, grabbing him. My arm snakes around his neck, putting him in a headlock. I back up closer to the lip of the Cornucopia, ready to toss him over.

The boy grunts and tries to resist, but he's too weak. Probably from loss of blood, that and I'm already stronger to begin with. Katniss shoots her arrow and it slices deep into Thresh's dog's heart while the thing is in midair. The creature falls to the ground and Katniss finally turns around.

I gotta say, she's pretty slow. Why aim precious arrows down at mutts who can't even get to you when your real enemy, who's been after you the moment you were reaped, is sitting not ten feet away from you? And he's about to kill your district partner that you're supposed to be in love with? I mentally shake my head at her stupidity.

Katniss looks at me. Just looks. Not glaring, not looking with terror or fear, just looking. One thing I've failed to notice about her until now is that her face almost always has no emotion whatsoever. She has the same old pale, ugly face. Her plain, dull grey eyes give away nothing.

Most of the time.

She must not have woken up yet. She probably hasn't realized that she could die right now. Unless she doesn't care. I doubt she cares that much about Peeta, either; she probably hates the fact that she has to look like she's in love with him, some boring boy from back home who bakes cakes.

I know I care. I have to win. I was raised to win.

When Lover Boy struggles in my grip, I shift my weight, and the pain in my feet gets a million times worse.

She quickly lifts her bow and aims one of her last two arrows at me. This only makes me laugh out loud.

"Go on," I say, daring her. Blood bubbles in my mouth, so my next words sound garbled. "Shoot. Then we both go down and you win."

She doesn't shoot.

"Go on," I say, smirking. I know she won't shoot, but she should. "I'm dead anyway," I get out before a choke escapes my mouth. Katniss looks down for a split second, contemplating my words.

"I always was, right?" I continue. The words start to tumble out of my mouth and I shake my head nonchalantly. Peeta gasps a few times, his lungs begging for air. "I didn't know that until now." I shrug, or what counts for a shrug with me holding Peeta. Suddenly, anger fills me, anger because they, the Capitol, they tricked me. Tricked me into thinking I was the boss here. That I was the victor. But, in the end, they're always the victor, aren't they? I want to laugh, but there isn't any humor here. Not anymore. Because this isn't a game anymore. All my life I was raised to prepare for the Games. And maybe, at the time, I might have thought of it as meaningful and important. But it's only now, when I'm actually put into the Games and facing my death, I know I've been dead for a while. I haven't even been in control of my life; they just made me think so. They made everyone think so. "How's that, _is that what they want!_" I yell as loud as I can, looking up into the night sky, as if everyone in the country was up there and they weren't already hanging on to my every word. My lungs feel like they're about to die on me. I let my arm give a little to allow Peeta a sliver of air, to drag this out. That is what they want, isn't it? Then I pull my arm back in again, making Peeta choke, and Katniss, who has relaxed her bow, suddenly tenses up again. "Oh," I drag the word out with a sarcastic tone, because I think she thinks I should be scared of that bow and arrow. But I'm not. I pull my arm back even further, making Peeta's eyes almost bulge out, to make my point, even though the movement only reignites the pain in my shoulders. "Nah, nah," I shake my head with a humorless smile, "I can still do this," I say, tightening my arm around Peeta's neck once more, pain stabbing through my arm. "I can still do this. One more kill." I pause for a second, but I can't hold it in any longer. "It's the only thing I know how to do. Bring _pride_ to my district."

I'm looking at Katniss, but I don't see her. It doesn't matter if I win. There's still going to be a Hunger Games next year, and the year after that, and the year after that. I don't make a difference at all. I thought I did. But I don't. "Not that it matters."

Then, out of nowhere, a piercing pain stabs through the bone in my hand and vibrates up my arm and through my whole body, making me cry out with unbearable pain. I feel a hard blow to my stomach. The next thing I know I'm not standing anymore. No, I'm falling. Falling straight down to the bloodthirsty Capitol killers waiting for me below.

I scream.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Clove**

The big blond boy, Cato, falls straight down on us. A few of us back up so we don't get hit and once his body hits the ground, I sink my enormous, knife-sharp teeth into his body, biting as hard as I can, through his thick body suit. He screams like I've never heard anyone scream before, the sound filled with terror, pain and anger, and he calls out, but his words are unintelligible. He's already gone now, that's why. He lost the game. Not that he was ever going to win to begin with.

Even though Glimmer got hit by one of Katniss's arrows, she's still alive, and she's digging deep into Cato's stomach and intestines right next to me, trying to break through his ridiculously thick body suit. Marvel's going straight for the side of Cato's neck. I think of all the people Cato's killed in the arena just to win, and I laugh, the sound coming out as a fierce howl, because he could never win. None of the tributes could. The only people that win are the people in the Capitol. And those who are on the Capitol's side. Like me.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**Cato**

If Clove were still alive, this never would have happened.

Or maybe it would have anyway. I don't know. I don't really care anymore.

From the moment I hit the ground I feel paws, claws, and teeth everywhere, all over my body, scratching at me and biting at me and trying to tear me apart, limb from limb. I'm still screaming, because I can't take it, even though I've been trained my whole life to ignore the pain.

My sisters must be so disappointed. And my mother too. I can't help feeling like I failed them, because everyone was so sure I would win and I invested my whole life into the past two weeks. That and I never knew what the point of these Games really was until I lost. And I wasn't supposed to lose. I think of what it must look like to them that I'm dying right now, on television in front of the whole country. It must be so embarrassing to them. Back at home, everyone is probably treating them like they are outsiders, as we usually do to families of tributes that die in the arena. We're Careers. We're supposed to win.

I try to scream out the names. Clove. Mom. My sisters. Just to show them that I am still trying, that I'm still hanging on to my life. But how can I expect them to understand my garbled, torn screams when I can't even understand them myself?

I didn't understand a lot before today. Ever since I held my first sword. Ever since I watched my first Hunger Games. All this time, I thought winning these Games was possible. But the truth is these Games weren't made by the Capitol so we could win. No, they created the Games so only they could win. Not us. Not anyone in the districts, not even regular people in the Capitol. The Capitol is only using me. They use me and have always used me so they can win. They used Clove, too. And Thresh. And Finch. And Katniss and Peeta too. We're nothing to them but things. Pieces. Playing pieces in their games. And to me, that's not fair. They have no right to take my life away from me. But they'll do it anyway. This is when I realize that all this time, I've been after Katniss and Peeta and Thresh and everyone because I thought they were my enemies. But the real enemy here is the Capitol. The real enemy is this country's leaders. The people who put on the Games – Snow, Crane, Flickerman, all of them. The country itself, because the Games are what it stands for. It's like I can't even be myself because they have taken even that right away from me. Who knows if I am really myself, if they have made me violent and kill-obsessed ever since the day of my birth? How would I really be if the Games did not exist? I want to think about what life must have been like before Panem but my thoughts are not together anymore. I can't hear myself think over my bloodcurdling screams of pain and the growls and roars of these muttations. It is only now that they've begun to really tear into my skin, because they have just gotten past my body suit. I thought it hurt before, but this is more than a million times worse.

So, in reality, I was never truly myself, was I? I was only what they wanted me to be. Bloodthirsty. Merciless. A killing machine. I used to think it was unspoken of to let my enemies win; the other tributes, the other districts. But in reality, the real enemy, the real opponent, has been the Capitol all along. And they are winning.

I know my death has only just started. It's going to go on all night, I bet. But my mind stops working early on, within minutes. It's hard to think when you're being slaughtered alive while thinking this wasn't supposed to happen. You were raised to win, but none of it matters when you were born to die.

~*~*~X~*~*~

**A/N: I mostly stuck with the book here, except for when Katniss and Cato face off because I liked what he said in the movie better. I hope you guys like how I put Clove the mutt's point of view, too. I mainly did it to show how much the Games messed with people's heads and manipulated them and stuff. Anywayyyy this is the last chapter, hope you guys liked this story! Thanks so much for all the reviews and support and all that, it really helped me a lot. Hopefully I didn't let you down with this ending… **** Don't forget to tell me what you think by reviewing, you might as well since you're already here, right?**


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